Golden Wreath of Struga Poetry Evenings
1 appearances
-
Edition 50 (2015) Winner
Bei Dao
ベイダオ
Bei Dao
Aliases:
趙振開 / 赵振开 / Zhao Zhenkai
Pen Names:
Bei Dao（Used as a pen name）
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1949-08-02 （Beijing, China）
- Nationality
- China, United States
- Languages
- Mandarin Chinese, English
- Residence History
- Beijing, China → Europe (West Berlin, Paris, Oslo, Leiden, etc.) → United States (Davis, New York, etc.) → Hong Kong
Career
- Occupations
- Poet, Writer, Professor
- Active Years
- 1978-
- Affiliations
- Chinese University of Hong Kong (Honorary Professor of Humanities), Eastern Michigan University (McCandless Chair in the Humanities), University of California, Davis (visiting faculty), Beloit College (Lois and Willard Mackey Chair in Creative Writing), Stony Brook University (visiting), University of Notre Dame (writer-in-residence)
- Memberships
- International Parliament of Writers (co-founder), PEN International (participant/active member), American Academy of Arts and Letters (Honorary Member)
- Influenced By
- Guo Lusheng (Shi Zhi), Paul Celan, Federico García Lorca, Boris Pasternak, Osip Mandelstam
- Influenced
- Misty poets and subsequent generations of Chinese-language poets, Contemporary Chinese poets and writers influenced by his formal experiments
- Nominations
- Neustadt International Prize for Literature, finalist (1996)
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beijing No. 4 High School | — | — | — | 1960年代 | China |
| Brown University (Honorary Doctorate) | — | — | 名誉博士 | 2011（名誉学位授与） | United States |
| Various visiting positions (Durham, Leiden, Eastern Michigan, UC Davis, Beloit, Stony Brook, Notre Dame) | — | — | — | 1987–2005（断続的な客員教員・フェロー職） | Multiple countries |
Beijing No. 4 High School
Period:
1960年代
Country:
China
School closed during the Cultural Revolution; did not obtain a formal degree.
Brown University (Honorary Doctorate)
Degree:
名誉博士
Period:
2011（名誉学位授与）
Year of Graduation:
2011
Country:
United States
Awarded an honorary doctorate in 2011.
Various visiting positions (Durham, Leiden, Eastern Michigan, UC Davis, Beloit, Stony Brook, Notre Dame)
Period:
1987–2005（断続的な客員教員・フェロー職）
Country:
Multiple countries
Held various visiting and faculty positions internationally.
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award | — | — | PEN America | 受賞 |
| 1990 | Tucholsky Prize | — | — | Svenska PEN | 受賞 |
| 1996 | American Academy of Arts and Letters, Honorary Member | — | 名誉 | American Academy of Arts and Letters | 名誉会員 |
| 1998 | Guggenheim Fellowship for Creative Arts | — | — | John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation | フェローシップ受賞 |
| 2002 | Argana International Poetry Award | — | — | Argana (organizers) | 受賞 |
| 2005 | Jeanette Schocken Literary Prize | — | — | Jeanette Schocken Prize committee | 受賞 |
| 2010 | Changwon K.C. International Literary Prize | — | — | Changwon K.C. Prize committee | 受賞 |
| 2011 | Honorary Doctorate, Brown University | — | 名誉学位 | Brown University | 授与 |
| 2014 | Cikada Prize | — | — | Cikada Prize committee | 受賞 |
| 2015 | Golden Wreath Award of the Struga Poetry Evenings | — | — | Struga Poetry Evenings | 受賞 |
| 2020 | Barbara Fields-Siotis Award | — | — | Awarding body (Greece) | 受賞 |
| 2021 | Yakamochi Medal | — | — | Awarding body (Japan) | 受賞 |
| 2022 | Honorary Doctorate, University of Artois | — | 名誉学位 | University of Artois | 授与 |
PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award
1990
Organization:
PEN America
Result:
受賞
Tucholsky Prize
1990
Organization:
Svenska PEN
Result:
受賞
American Academy of Arts and Letters, Honorary Member
1996
Category:
名誉
Organization:
American Academy of Arts and Letters
Result:
名誉会員
Guggenheim Fellowship for Creative Arts
1998
Organization:
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
Result:
フェローシップ受賞
Argana International Poetry Award
2002
Organization:
Argana (organizers)
Result:
受賞
Jeanette Schocken Literary Prize
2005
Organization:
Jeanette Schocken Prize committee
Result:
受賞
Changwon K.C. International Literary Prize
2010
Organization:
Changwon K.C. Prize committee
Result:
受賞
Honorary Doctorate, Brown University
2011
Category:
名誉学位
Organization:
Brown University
Result:
授与
Cikada Prize
2014
Organization:
Cikada Prize committee
Result:
受賞
Golden Wreath Award of the Struga Poetry Evenings
2015
Organization:
Struga Poetry Evenings
Result:
受賞
Barbara Fields-Siotis Award
2020
Organization:
Awarding body (Greece)
Result:
受賞
Yakamochi Medal
2021
Organization:
Awarding body (Japan)
Result:
受賞
Honorary Doctorate, University of Artois
2022
Category:
名誉学位
Organization:
University of Artois
Result:
授与
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
Notes from the City of the Sun
1983 Poetry collectionOne of the first collections of his poems presented in English, showcasing early Misty-poet characteristics: fragmented images and repeated motifs.
IndividualityReclaiming languageMemory and imagery
Translations
- Available in English translation
The Answer (poem) / Waves (fiction collection)
1978 Poem / Short fiction"The Answer" is a landmark poem inspired by the 1976 Tiananmen incident and widely cited by a generation; "Waves" is an early fiction collection tied to his underground publishing activities.
DefianceAgencyMemory and history
Translations
- Available in English translation
The Rose of Time: New and Selected Poems
2010 Poetry collectionA selection of new and selected poems that maps the evolution of his work and increased his recognition in the English-speaking world.
Exile and belongingLinguistic experimentationIndividual and public
Translations
- Available in English
City Gate, Open Up (memoir)
2010 Memoir / EssaysA memoir recounting his childhood, the Cultural Revolution, exile and life abroad. English edition published in 2017.
Personal memoryPolitics and the everydayIdentity
Translations
- English translation available (2017)
Bibliography
- Notes from the City of the Sun (English publication, 1983)
- The August Sleepwalker (Poetry, Chinese 1986; English 1988)
- Waves (Fiction collection, 1985)
- The Rose of Time: New and Selected Poems (2010)
- City Gate, Open Up (Memoir, 2010)
Translations by Author
- Translations into Chinese of Western poets (e.g. Paul Celan and others)
Translations of Works
- Works translated into more than 30 languages, including English
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- Experimental free verseJuxtaposition of compressed, symbolic imagesDeliberate ambiguity (the 'Misty' poetic style)
- Recurring Motifs
- Tension between individual and publicRecovery of languageExile, memory, landscape
Health
-
Stroke (2012)2012年Affected creative activity; he turned to visual art (painting) during recovery.
Legacy
One of the leading figures of contemporary Chinese poetry who popularized the Misty poets internationally. Through exile and censorship, he gained wide recognition for linguistic experiment and exploration of individuality; frequently mentioned as a Nobel Prize in Literature contender.
Museums
- Hong Kong Contemporary Art Museum (exhibitions) Based in Hong Kong; exhibits also held in Beijing
Academic Societies
- Chinese University of Hong Kong (honorary position)
- American Academy of Arts and Letters (Honorary Member)
Archives
- Chinese University of Hong Kong — related archives/collections
In Popular Culture
- Lines of his poems were used on posters and banners during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests
Quotes
-
I will not kneel on the ground / allowing the executioners to look tall / the better to obscure the wind of freedom
Source: Poem 'The Answer' (published in Jintian, circa 1978) (1978)
Trivia
- Birth name Zhao Zhenkai.
- Joined the Red Guards in youth but later became disillusioned with the movement.
- Co-founded the literary journal Jintian (Today), which was banned in China in 1980.
- Exiled after the 1989 Tiananmen protests; long banned from returning to mainland China though allowed limited visits after 2006.
- His work has been translated into more than 30 languages.
- Suffered a stroke in 2012 and later pursued painting.