Over Autumn Rooftops

by Hai Zi, Dan Murphy (Translator)

Hai Zi (1964-1989) is considered one of the most important Chinese poets of the twentieth century. In his short life, he wrote over 250 short poems, a number of poetic plays, and long poems totaling over 400 pages. In the twenty years since his death, we have seen the publication of his complete works, several versions of selected poems, at least two full-length biographies, several books about his life and poetry, and numerous essays about his work, all in Chinese. In Over Autumn Rooftops, Host Publications is proud to make available to English-speaking audiences the work of this profound and beloved poet.

Genres: Poetry, Chinese Literature

271 pages, Paperback

First published September 15, 2010

About the author

Hai Zi (Chinese: 海子; March 1964 – 26 March 1989) is the pen name of the Chinese poet Zha Haisheng (查海生). He was one of the most famous poets in Mainland China after the Cultural Revolution. He committed suicide by lying on the path of a train in Shanhaiguan at the age of 25.

Hai Zi wrote several long poems, "choral operas" and countless short poems in his brief life. His style is generally described as "anachronism". Many of his short poems contain symbolic images like Land, Sea and Wheat field and recall the ideals of the ancient Chinese pastoral poet Tao Yuanming. Hai Zi was also obviously influenced by Western philosophy and arts, especially Nietzsche and Van Gogh. And the strong sense of mysticism in all of his works is probably one of the most important characteristics which turned him into a unique figure of Chinese literature.

Reviews

[Jennifer Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Graceful and clever, this is one of those collections that deserves reading and rereading, aloud and privately. Hai Zi's poems convey a sense of the natural world and of private meditation in the face of suffering, and as simple as they are, they are just as beautiful. If you read poetry, this is worth your time.

As the first English translation of any of the poet's work, this collection moves in chronological order, bringing together many of Hai Zi's short and long poems from the most prolific years of his short life. The book places the English translations on pages facing the Chinese so that readers who know both languages will probably gain a great deal more from the work, but the edition is attractive and well worth the while even for those of us who only speak/read English. It is, though, a transporting work: regardless of where you find yourself when you read this, you'll gain a sense of calm and warmth from Hai Zi's work, and feel yourself to be journeying with him through villages and along rivers, lost in his meditations.

Simply, I can't recommend this work highly enough. Hai Zi's poems, especially taken together as Dan Murphy has placed them, are brilliant and striking, and the sparse footnotes are just what you would want: explaining just enough about landmarks and cultural history, as is needed for the single poem, and nothing more. Most of these poems, though, need no explanation.

Hai Zi's voice comes across as both intimate and urgent, and every word is worth hearing.