Eva Yung 1Symbolist uses imagery or objects to send a subtle message or express emotion from the poet.
According to Lin, “t
o evoke and intimate rather than to state directly was a primary aim of
the Symbolists.”
1
The ambiguity of the symbolism in these poems can also draw out
the reader‟s
inner self as he attributes his own meanings during the reading process.
Symbolist poetry was first introduced to China in the 1920s, by Li Jinfa, one of China‟s
most important modern poets. Little is known about Li
‟s life.
From bits and pieces of information, we know Li was born in Guangdong sometime around 1900. His given name wasShuliang, but he adopted the pen name Jinfa (Golden Hair) after the blond goddess who appeared before him during a hallucination when he was ill.
2
In his twenties, he traveled to Europe andwhile he was in France, he became interested in French Symbolist poetry.
3
Translating FrenchSymbolist poetry and writing some of his own, he was able to introduce this expressive art to aChinese audience. However, many Chinese were
unable to comprehend his “medley of
enigmatic images and private symbolism.
”
4
In addition, not only were his poemsincomprehensible, many of his themes were dark and depressing, while ironically (for mostreaders) displaying some form of love.
“Tenderness,”
“Thoughts
,
”
“
Misfortune
,”
“WomanForsaken”
are four of his poems that contain these dark themes and love, as well as his infamoussymbolism. Close readings of the translations of these four poems (translations by Lin [1972],Yeh [1992], and Hsu [1964]) reveal that his poems are not only beautifully constructed, but theyalso express the different perspectives of each individual reader or translator.
1
Lin, 153
2
Yeh (1992), p. 17
3
Lin, p. 152-153
4
Lin, p. 153
Eva Yung 2In
Modern Chinese Poetry: An Introduction,
Julia Lin
interprets
“Tenderness (
温柔
)
”(1922) as “Li Jinfa‟s
ambivalent attitude toward Beauty
:”
5
With my rude fingertipsI feel the warmth of your flesh;The small fawn lost his way in the woods;Only the sighs of dead leaves remain.Your low feeble voiceScreams in my barren heart,And I, the conqueror of all,Have broken my spear and shield.
Your “tender glance”
Is like a butcher‟s warning of slaughter;
Your lips? No need to mention them!I would rather trust your arms.I believe in the crazy fairy tales,
But not in a woman‟s love.
I am not used to making comparisons,But you do resemble the shepherdess in fiction.I exhaust all musical tunes,But fail to please your ears;I use every color,But none can capture your beauty.
6
Lin suggests that Li Jinfa is personifying Beauty. She states,
“[Beauty]
is the object of his
love as well as his frustrations.”
7
However, in
Lin‟s
translations, this poem comes to be about both the stages of
a man‟s love for a woman and the influence they have in each other‟s lives
.In the first stanza, we see that it
accentuates both the speaker„s and the
woman‟s fleetinginnocence. From the first two lines, “With my rude fingertips/I feel the warmth of your flesh,” it
seems as if her beauty is tainted by his love.
His “rude fingertips” touch her warm flesh, or skin.
5
Lin, p. 158
6
Lin, p. 158-159
7
Lin, p. 158
Eva Yung 3
“Rude fingertips” are not
soft or gentle; they are usually dry, cracked, and prodding. When wethink of warm flesh, it has a gentle, pure, and soft connotation. So touching her warm flesh with
his “rude fingertips” represents his negative influence on her innocence
.The poem continues with the theme of innocence
–
in the third line
–
the small fawn thatappears represents innocence. To be more specific, the speaker
‟s
innocence. His innocence is in
question as he “[loses] his way in the woods.”
Getting lost in the woods, the fawn has deviatedfrom his path.
In other words, the speaker‟s innocence has stra
yed from the path it oncefollowed. Therefore, he is not innocent or pure as he was.
The “sighs of dead leaves” further
emphasize this point. The sighs are the sounds of crinkled leaves either being stepped on by thefawn or being blown in the wind, grazing the ground. This symbolizes his purity is fleeting as hestays with his lover
–
she is negatively influencing him as well.From the second stanza to the end, we see from the speaker
‟s
perspective, how he hasinflue
nced his lover‟s life
, and she
his own. “Your low feeble voice/screams in my barren heart.”
Even though her voice is weak, it echoes within his soul, like a first love unable to escape the
heart‟s memory.
Her image resonates within him. Although he
seems to be a “conqueror of all,”
he is unable to drive
“[her] voice” from his heart. He breaks his weapons because as much as he
fights to rid his tainted heart of her, he cannot. He is surrendering to his love.
However, “[her] „tender glance‟” is compared to a “butcher‟s warning of slaughter.” This
shows that their love has become bittersweet and her innocence has turned to violence. In thenext two lines, lips represent words and arms represent actions. He would rather believe in her actions than her words; he cannot trust her when she states her love. He can only trust her physical expressions. The fourth stanza furthers this idea by instigating that the speaker would