Two students wax poetic about old verse
Print Edition
A food delivery courier triumphed over a master from Tsinghua University to win a television contest that requires participants to recite Chinese poetry from memory.
鈥淐hinese Poetry Congress,鈥 a popular game show aired on China Central Television, wrapped up its third season early this month with the dark horse victory. That has spurred even more interest in the program.
Qian Zi鈥檃ng, 12, and Li Yunyun, 14, both from Wenlai Middle School in Minhang District, participated in the third season.
The show is casting a new light on traditional Chinese poetry and culture. It鈥檚 not easy to memorize old poetry because of changes in language. To some, it seems strange to memorize poetry at all since one can easily look up the verse online.
For Qian and Li, traditional poetry has become an essential part of their daily lives.
Qian is a bookworm interested in history. His day wouldn鈥檛 be complete without reading a few traditional poems, he said. He has disciplined himself to learn two poems by heart every day since the sixth grade.
He told the judges that he has read hundreds of books. His favorites include 鈥淩ecords of the Grand Historian,鈥 written in the Southern and Northern Dynasties period (AD 386-581), and 鈥淶izhi Tongjian,鈥 or 鈥淐omprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance,鈥 which records China鈥檚 history from 403 BC to AD 959, covering 16 dynasties and spanning across almost 1,400 years. Chairman Mao is said to have read it over 17 times.
Li competed on the program with her father as a family entry. Qian was champion of the children鈥檚 group in the second season.
鈥淜nowing that so many people are enchanted by traditional poetry encourages me greatly and means I鈥檓 not alone,鈥 Qian said. 鈥淎nd it inspires me to keep learning and delving into poetry. Competing on TV strengthened my ability to deal with pressure and taught me that experience is more important than results.鈥
Li managed to stay pretty calm during the program.
鈥淚鈥檓 pretty satisfied with my performance, but my dad could do better,鈥 she said, with a smile.
She said she picked up the book 鈥300 Tang Poems鈥 out of boredom one summer, and has been mesmerized by poetry ever since. She estimates that she can recite about 800 poems by heart now.
鈥淭hey offer me mental calm because you can always find a poem to fit your mood,鈥 Li said. 鈥淲hen I feel lonely, I read 鈥楧rinking Alone with the Moon鈥 by Li Bai. When I鈥檓 discouraged, I read 鈥楲yrics to the Melody of a Pacified Storm鈥 by Su Shi.鈥
Qian divides poem into three categories. The first are poems that are well written and famous. The second is lesser-known verse, and the third are the poems that nobody reads. To read from all three levels, he said, is to be a scholar.
鈥淚 have many friends now with whom I can share my passion for poetry,鈥 he said. 鈥淲e communicate frequently on WeChat, and play games like poetry solitaire.鈥
Both teenagers are also music aficionados, finding similarities in poetry and music.
Qian plays the second violin in Shanghai No. 1 Youth String Orchestra. He said he sees parallels between Western classical music and Chinese poems.
鈥淭ake Tchaikovsky鈥檚 鈥楽ymphony No. 6鈥 for example,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t communicates the same mood as the poem 鈥楲ate Autumn鈥 by Liu Yong. Both works talk about nostalgia for the past and communicate in language that the masses can understand.鈥
Li said she prefers New Age Chinese music.
鈥淐i is a genry of poetry developed from the lyrics of popular songs in ancient times,鈥 she said. 鈥淣ew Age Chinese music use poems, ci and lines of irregular lengths. I memorized 鈥楶ipa Tune鈥 which has 88 lines, by listening to a song. This type of music is growing more popular as people begin to cherish our culture.鈥
Both students hold Qian Zhongshu, a late scholar specialized in Chinese culture and literature, as a role model.
鈥淨ian is distinguished for his broad knowledge of both Chinese and Western culture, and that鈥檚 the kind of person I want to be,鈥 said Li.
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