THE LIFE AND POETRY OF DAI TIAN A Thesis Submitted to University of London In Candidacy for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy By Lui Nam NG School of Oriental And African Studies January 1999 1 ProQuest Number: 10731326 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 10731326 Published by ProQuest LLC(2017). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 Abstract The thesis studies the life and poetry of Dai Tian (1937-) as a Hong Kong poet. Hong Kong literature and poetry have seldom been studied by scholars in the West in past years. With the ending of British colonial rule and the handing over of the sovereignty of Hong Kong back to the Chinese on 1st July 1997, there is an urgency in the study of Hong Kong poetry to render overdue recognition to Hong Kong poets. Dai Tian was bom in China, raised in Mauritius, studied in Taiwan and the USA, and now lives in Hong Kong. In this thesis, I demonstrate that Hong Kong poetry exists and that Dai Tian is one of its foremost representatives. The thesis is in 5 chapters. Chapter 1 introduces the literary activities and development of Hong Kong from 1842-1997. A definition of Hong Kong poetry on the basis of themes will be given. The question of Hong Kong being a place of importance in poetry is raised. Chapter 2 is an account of the life of Dai Tian. Chapter 3 is the discussion of Dai Tian’s poetry. Dai Tian’s poetry is divided into 3 stages, the 1st stage is from 1957-1966, the 2nd stage from 1967-1980 and the 3rd stage from 1981-1990. Recurring themes like Chineseness, Chinese arts and artists, time and life, international politics, fables and cultural China are discussed. Chapter 4 is the study of Dai Tian as a Hong Kong poet. Dai Tian’s poetry will be studied as representative of Hong Kong poets. The themes of anti-colonialism and Hong Kong as a periphery to Mainland China, Taiwan and the United Kingdom will be examined. Chapter 5 concludes the thesis and examines the friendship between Dai Tian and contemporary poets, Dai Tian’s influence on Hong Kong poets and his plans for future writings. 2 Table of Contents Title Page 1 Abstract 2 Table of Contents 3 Photograph of Dai Tian 5 Acknowledgements 6 A Note on Romanization 7 Chapter 1 Introduction 8 A Hong Kong Poet: Dai Tian (8), Definitions o f Hong Kong Poetry (11), Hong Kong: A Place o f No Importance in Poetry? (15), Cession of Hong Kong: 1841, I860 and 1898 (16), Hong Kong: A Safe Ha\>en (18), Hong Kong: Literary Development 1842-1997 (20), The Awakening Stage: 1874-1949 (21), The Sojourner's Stage: 1950-1969 (23), The Hong Kong Identification Stage: 1970-1981 (28), The Transitional Stage: 1982-1997 (31), Poetry Anthologies (34) Chapter 2 The Life of Dai Tian 39 Dai Tian’s Parents: Dai Yi and Li Bixia (39), Dai Tian: From China to Mauritius 1937-1957 (40), From Mauritius to Taiwan: 1957-1961 (43), A Prolonged Stay: Hong Kong 1961-? (46), Another Chapter: 1990-1997 (56) Chapter 3 Dai Tian’s Poetry 59 Division o f Three Stages (59), Early Poem: ‘The Chirps of the Swallows’ (61), Li Kuang: 'The Chirps o f the Swallows’ (65), The 1st Stage: 1957-1966 (68), Taiwan Era: 1957-1961 (68), Three Modernist Schools: 1956 (69), Literary Review: 1956-1960 (71), Modern Literature: 1960-1973, 1977-1984 (73), New Voices: 1961 and 1980 (74), W ind’, Impromptu’ and 'Things Perceived Under the Eyes’ (75), ‘Cut-outs’, 'Incomplete Manuscript of 1959 ’ and other Poems (78), Hong Kong Era: 1961-1966 (82), Self Portrait of A Drinker’ (83), Huadiao’ (84), Nirvana’ and ‘That is I t’ (87), Zhou Mengdie, Guan Guan, Ya Xian and Dai Tian (89), Summing up 1st Stage (90), The 2nd Stage: 1967-1980 (92), Chang’an and Kyoto: Su Manshu, Bian Zhilin and Dai Tian (93), ‘Ten Poems on Kyoto’ and 'Stone Court’ (95), ‘A Child’s Fable No. I ’ and ‘Oh! I am a Bird’ (104), Chinese Arts and 3 Artists: Impression on the Painting "Chant while Walking o f the Song and Yuan Periods ‘Dance by the Cloud Gate Dance Troupe’ and ‘Zhu Ming ’ (106), International Politics: Selling of Heads’ (113), Time and Life: ‘A Sprinting Zebra’, ‘This is a Rotten Apple ’, ‘The Kite ’, Debate on Rugged Mountain ’, ‘To A Mountaineer’ and ‘The Fossil Says’ (114), Summing up 2nd Stage (124), The 3rd Stage: 1981-1990 (125), Chineseness, Cultural China, International Politics and Fables (125), Chineseness: ‘Condolence to An Era—In Commemoration o f Father ’, Light Touches on Beijing’ and Sketches on Beijing’ (127), Cultural China: ‘Imitation o f Ballads on Ancie?it Excursions’ (134), International Politics: Portraits of Moustache Fleas’ (145), Fables: ‘Autumn’, ’Teeth’, Moonlight in the Drawer’ and ‘Blessing’ (147), Bian Zhilin and Dai Tian (149), Summary of Chapter 3 (153) Chapter 4 Dai Tian: A Hong Kong Poet 156 British Colonial Rule in Hong Kong (156), Anti-Colonialism: ‘The Story of the Stone’ (159), Intertextuality: Cao Xueqin, Dai Tian and Lo Fu (163), Deconstruction (167), ‘The Waste Land’ and ‘The Snake ’: T S. Eliot and Dai Tian (171), ‘The Scenes o f 1971 ’: Anti-Colonialism and Anti-Commercialism (179), 1997: ‘Broken Thoughts on 1997’ and ‘The New Year Couplet’ (183), Periphery: Hong Kong versus China, Taiwan and Great Britain (188), Periphery: ‘Oh! I am a Bird’ (192), The Wild Goose, the Swallow, the Bustard, the Bird and the Dragon Bird (195), Circular Form: ‘Oh! I am a Bird’ (197), Dai Wangshu and Dai Tian: ‘With My Maimed Hand’ and ‘This Pair of Hands’ (200), Criticism: ‘Comments and Remarks on Cultural Revolution ’ (204), June 4th Tiananmen Massacre: ‘The Damned Black Hand’ and ‘Time Train ’ (206), Summary o f Chapter 4 (209) Chapter 5 Conclusion 211 Friendship Among Poets (211), Dai Tian: Poetics and Hong Kong (213), Dai Tian: Influences on Hong Kong Poets (215), Plan for Future Writings (218), Marginality: A Citizen of the World (220) Footnotes 224 Bibliography 254 Appendix A: Chinese Names 268 Appendix B: Chinese Poems 278 4 Dai Tian Photograph taken in Hong Kong on 9th January 1992 Acknowledgments This thesis could not have been written without the advice and encouragement of my supervisors at the School of Oriental and African Studies, .University of London: Professor Hugh Baker, Dr. Andrew Lo, Dr. T.C. Wang and Dr. Michel Hockx. Especially, I have to thank Dr. Lloyd Haft, the external examiner, and Dr. Henry Zhao, the internal examiner, for their invaluable suggestions to the improvement of the present thesis. I am also indebted to those who read my manuscripts at various stages of completion and checked my progress. I owe thanks also to those who helped me to collect research materials and newspaper- cuttings in Hong Kong, Taiwan and the United Kingdom: Wu Xuanren, Kelvin Keung, Petula Poon, Ho Po-shan, Carol Chang, W.W. Lo, Leung Man-wai and Poon Wing- keung. I especially have to thank the following persons who granted me interviews on the research of the thesis: Dai Tian, Dr. Eva Hung, Hu Juren and Huang Jundong. I would also like to thank Dr. John Breen for his assistance in the Japanese translation. I should like to express my gratitude also to the following people who have, in the past years, provided me encouragement through correspondence: Wu Xuanren, Huang Jichi Yan Zhanmin, Connie Wong, Yuk Wan Averill and Ray Foo-kune. I have to thank Ng Chi-ping who helped to purchase and set up my computer system, thanks also have to be extended to Fiona Au, Daniel Au and Stanley Hui for their support in computer expertise. Without the assistance of Stanley Hui and Leung Chi-hung in Chinese typesetting, the Chinese appendix could not have appeared in the present format. Thanks to Dr. Leo Blair for his continuous advice and enlightenment. Thanks to my father and all the family members who have enabled me to complete the thesis in England, leaving them all in Hong Kong. I am gratefully indebted to Sarah Blair who has corrected and improved my English to an unimaginable level. Lastly, my most sincere gratitude to Katy Tse Blair and William Blair QC, without whose generous encouragement and support throughout the years, I could not have completed this thesis. Responsibility for any errors in this thesis is mine alone. 6 To Hong Kong 1st July 1997 A note on Romanization With the exception of persons who are well-known by their English names or by a different system of romanization, all personal names are romanized according to the pinyin system. All place names in Hong Kong are romanized or translated according to the local system. 7 Chapter 1 Introduction The main objectives of this thesis on the life and poetry of Dai Tian are to render overdue recognition to Hong Kong poets and to argue that Dai Tian is an archetypical representative of Hong Kong poets. The thesis is in 5 chapters. Chapter 1 is a brief introduction to the colonial history of Hong Kong and the literary activities and development taking place there from 1842 to 1997.