Research On The Historical Development Of Modern Chinese Poetry In Macao (1938～2008)

Macao, though tiny in size, possesses a long-standing history of the encounters between the East and West cultures. Such historical background, contributing for its unique cultural status, has earned Macao with a prestigious identity of the "City of Poetry". However, most of the researches on the modern poetry were focused on the works in 1980's, as opposed to sporadic ones on the works of other periods. As a matter of fact, modern Chinese poetry in Macao came to reveal its value since 1930's and its interwoven relationship is obvious among the works of each period. The present thesis, being the first of the kind in China, is intended to research on the evolution of the modern poetry in Macao from 1938 till 2008, in both vertical and horizontal contexts. On one hand, the thesis serves to consolidate the foundation by "digging into" the literature as well as articles in newspapers and magazines, while, on the other hand, to highlight its regional significance in Chinese literature by comparison with the cases in mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.The thesis is composed of five chapters. In the first two chapters, an introductory account is given of the cultural background of modern poetry in Macao, involving Chinese as well as Portuguese cultural heritage, local cultural features and the source of modern poetry. The last three chapters attempt to analyze the poetic development of each period. The first period, between 1930's and 1950's, is represented by those modern poems written in a variety of forms and styles, published in certain periodicals like . During the period between 1960's and 1970's, the composing style was under great influence of mainland China and Hong Kong. In 1980's multi-faceted growth of the modern poetry can be discovered and the present thesis is intended to examine the difficulties faced by the immigrant as well as local poets, in cultural and socio-economic perspectives. Modern poems in Macao attained its maturity during the period of 1990's, when the transformation can be reflected by numerous newly established poetic societies and prolific criticism. The emergence of the new generation of modern poets marked the transition towards the 21st century, whereas the popularity of online creation shed light on infinite opportunities. The last part is a detailed description of the right and wrong as well as the gain and loss during the course of the evolution of modern poetry, and also suggests to which direction it will develop in the future.The research on the analysis of the overall development of the modern poems in Macao comes down to the following conclusion. The modern poetry, dating back as early as 1930's, was "transplanted" from mainland China, with least impact from foreign cultural theories. Due to the fact that most of the poets were immigrants who had undergone an era of wars and political conflicts, they composed poetic works for the sake of national struggles. After 1950's, realism and patriotism played a leading role in the writing of modern poems. Apart from the works released in Hong Kong and magazines like "Hong Dao", poems composed largely with themes in praise of glorification served for political interests. With the emerging of modernism succeeded by post-modernism between 1980's and 1990's, the vision of Macao became more and more distinctive in the poems, in which both the local and immigrant poets expressed a strong sense of pessimism. Consistent trials of different writing styles even triggered limitless vitality in their works. Entering the 21st century, the poets of new generation, freed from the shadow of the predecessors, are steadily approaching its ripeness. Their eagerness in quest of artistic originality is driving the field of modern poems to a higher level than ever.