Li Jinfa
Li Jinfa (李金髮; November 21, 1900 – December 25, 1976) was a Chinese poet, sculptor, and diplomat of Hakka descent.[1][2] Li was often considered to be the founder of Chinese symbolistic poetry and was credited with helping modernize Chinese poetry.[3] Li was also a professional sculptor throughout most of his working life.[4] Briefly from 1944 to 1946 , Li worked for Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Iraq and Iran.[5][2] Li later immigrated to the United States where he remained until he died in 1976.[2]
Biography
[edit]Li Jinfa was born in Meizhou county in Guangdong, China in 1900. Li's parents and grandparents were farmers, and he grew up in a household of strict discipline.[6]
In 1919, at the age of 17, Li left China from Shanghai to study in France.[2][1] In France, Li was one of the first Chinese students to study western style sculpting.[4] Meanwhile he was introduced to French literature such as the poetry from the French symbolist poets Charles Baudelaire and Paul Varlaine which influenced Li's future works.[7] It was here in 1922 where Li adopted his typical pen name of "Li Jinfa" after receiving visits from a blonde goddess which he believed cured of an illness he was suffering at the time.[1] His birth name was Li Shuliang.[1] Li chose sculpting to be his college major and two of his works was showcased in a Pairs art exhibition.[1][2][4]
In 1924 Li returned to China from Germany where he was offered a position at the Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts as the school's sole sculpting professor.[1][2] Unfortunately, no students enrolled in Li's classes, so he was forced to resign and seek employment elsewhere.[1][4] From 1924 to 1928 Li worked at a myriad of different academic and governmental intuitions.[1][6] In March of 1928 Lin was offered to be a sculpting professor at the National Hangzhou Art College.[6] During that time, he established a sculpting firm with his friends called "Roman Engineering Office" in Shanghai.[6]
Li began writing his poetry in 1920, but it was not he until he returned from Europe where Li published his first collection of poems “Light Rain”《微 雨》in 1925.[8][2] A year later in 1926 Li published "Song for Happiness" 《为幸福而歌》and a year after that he released "Gourmet and the Bad Year" 《食客与凶年》 in 1927. [9][10] In 1928 Li published "Ancient Greek Love Song" 《古希腊戀歌》.[11]
Despite his first few collections of poems being regarded as his best work, these publications garnered little attention form the other literati.[12] It was not until the 1930's were Li's initial publication of "Light Rain" began to be recognized as the first instance of Chinese symbolist poetry.[12]
In 1931, Li resigned from teaching at Hangzhou Art school and moved to Guangzhou.[6] There he took up jobs as a freelance sculptor. [6]During this time, he erected two of his most famous statues which included bronze statues of Wu Tingfang in Guangzhou and statue of Sun Yat-sen at the entrance of the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in Guangzhou.[6][2][13]
In 1936 Li moved his family to Guangzhou to take up a teaching position at Guangzhou Municipal Art School.[6] In 1938 Li and his family fled to Vietnam when the city was captured by the Imperial Japanese Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War.[6][14] In 1940 Li returned to Guangdong province to the wartime capital of Shaoguan.[6][2] During this time Li published patriotic poems in literary magazines in support of the Chinese war effort against the Japanese.[2][6] During the war Li published his last major poetic work titled "Exotic" 《异国情调》.[2]
In 1941, Li began working for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.[6] In 1944 Li was appointed the position as of first secretary to the Republic of China's embassy in Iran, later he was made chargé d'affaires to the Chinese Embassy in Iraq.[6][5][2]
In 1951 Li immigrated to the United States where he became a chicken farmer before using his skills as a sculptor to make a living.[6] Li died in New York in 1976.[6][2]
Poetry collections
[edit]| Title | Year Published | |
|---|---|---|
| “Light Rain”《微 雨》 | 1925 | |
| "Song for Happiness" 《为幸福而歌》 | 1926 | |
| "Gourmet and the Bad Year" 《食客与凶年》 | 1927 | |
| "Ancient Greek Love Song" 《古希腊戀歌》 | 1928 | |
| "Exotic" 《异国情调》 | (???) Sometime during the Second-Sino Japanese War |
Major sculptures
[edit]| Description | Location | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Bronze statue of Sun Yat-sen[2][4][6][13] | Dr. Sun Yat-Sen's Memorial Hall, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China[2][4][6][13] | .jpg) | |
| Bronze statue of Wu Tingfang[4][2][6] | Yuexiu Mountain, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China[4][2][6] |  |
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h 梅州市人民政府门户网站 现代人物 李金发：中国现代象征派诗歌的开山鼻祖, www.meizhou.gov.cn/zjmz/lsyg/mzmr/xdrw/content/post_578680.html. Accessed 13 Oct. 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q 梅县志: 广东省情网.” 梅县志 | 广东省情网, dfz.gd.gov.cn/dfz/f/book/viewer?keywords=%2C%E6%A2%85%E5%8E%BF%E5%BF%97&bookId=78f28148c7c54283b12876d87a8e3f90&file=%2Fdfz%2Fbook%2F78f28148c7c54283b12876d87a8e3f90%2F0.pdf&bookName=%E6%A2%85%E5%8E%BF%E5%BF%97&snTopicCode=undefined&pubDate=1701931354000. Accessed 15 Nov. 2024.
- ^ 杨四平."李金发作为中国象征诗派先驱的诗学意义." 淮北煤炭师范学院学报(哲学社会科学版) .03(2003):13-18. doi:CNKI:SUN:HBMS.0.2003-03-002.
- ^ a b c d e f g h 林发.雕塑家李金发.2012.中国美术学院,MA thesis.
- ^ a b 金星."从重庆到德黑兰：1945年李金发的赴伊之旅." 新文学史料 .04(2022):20-28. doi:CNKI:SUN:XWXS.0.2022-04-004.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s 罗爱花."中国象征派诗歌之父——李金发." 客家文博 .02(2011):8-11. doi:CNKI:SUN:KJWB.0.2011-02-007.
- ^ 方慧."论“东方的波德莱尔”诗作的东方性——以《微雨》创作为中心." 作家天地 .11(2023):1-4. doi:CNKI:SUN:ZJTD.0.2023-11-001.
- ^ Person, et al. “Modern Consciousness and Symbolist Poetry: 12: Fei Ming, Li Jinfa An.” Taylor & Francis, Taylor & Francis, 3 Sept. 2018, www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781315626994-12/modern-consciousness-symbolist-poetry-gang-zhou.
- ^ 《食客与凶年》 - 《中国大百科全书》第三版网络版, www.zgbk.com/ecph/words?SiteID=1&ID=87867&Type=bkzyb&SubID=44468. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.
- ^ 《为幸福而歌》 - 《中国大百科全书》第三版网络版, www.zgbk.com/ecph/words?SiteID=1&Name=%E3%80%8A%E4%B8%BA%E5%B9%B8%E7%A6%8F%E8%80%8C%E6%AD%8C%E3%80%8B&Type=bkzyb&subSourceType=000003000005000001&SourceID=132199. Accessed 30 Nov. 2024.
- ^ 碧丽蒂, and 贝尔鲁易 “古希腊恋歌.” 豆瓣, book.douban.com/subject/36956771/. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.
- ^ a b Jiang Huan. "From "few responses" to the emergence of "the Baudelaire of the East" - Re-examining the reception of Li Jinfa's poetry in the 1920s." Journal of Huaibei Normal University (Philosophy and Social Sciences Edition) 45.04 (2024):116-124. doi:CNKI:SUN:HBMS.0.2024-04-018.
- ^ a b c 崔开宏."雕塑家李金发." 美术研究 .01(1984):15. doi:CNKI:SUN:MUSE.0.1984-01-006..
- ^ Part1 Chapter 5.1 - The Port Before and during the War, www.mardep.gov.hk/theme/port_hk/en/p1ch5_1.html#:~:text=In%20July%201937%2C%20the%20Marco,occupied%20by%20the%20Japanese%20army. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.