What does China mean to you?
Here are five line poems, sent in by Radio 3 listeners, composed about any aspect of China, contemporary or otherwise.
The lines begin with the letters C, H, I, N, A .
Some of these poems were read out on The Verb, during the 'Focus on China' season
LISTENER'S POEMS:From Alan - Qingdao Poem: Clouds wrap the mountains:
Heaven is hidden
In numinous light;
Nothing is what it seems:
All is mystery.
From Paul- Leicester Could anything ever be said to replace what we once were?
How your history unfolded before me
I touched you and you ripped my heart out
Now in the ruins of beauty we both lie
A ghost of the scent that was our Summer
and
Chaos and order in double measure
Happiness up to our eyebrows we held
Indistinct the tails of dragon and phoenix
Nor can the souls of Our Land remain unchanged
Again
From Ian - China
Chinese
Hospitality
Indiscriminating
No
Art is made.
From Elisabeth - Beijing Cloudless Harbin sky
Heat shimmering off the paving stones
In the waters of the Songjiang wades a shaggy brown dog
Nearby, men in white vests fly kites
And winter ice is just a memory.
and
Chi fan, time to eat
Henanese workmen squat on their yellow helmets,
In the blissful shade of the scholar trees
Not enough time to rest
Another day, another sweat-filled day.
and
Clinging to a strap on an Andingmen bus
Hands wet with sweat, I notice, as always, that scary sculpture,
Its giants’ clubs of stainless steel spikes glinting in the sun
Now what if there was an earthquake
And I was underneath?
and
Change for the bike attendant,
‘Hao, xiexie’ I say, handing over a couple of mao
‘I think you speak very good Chinese’, he grins goofily.
Nevertheless today I’m in a good mood and smile back
As it’s only the one millionth time I’ve been told those words.
and
Chubby pink cheeks, hair in untidy bunches
Hunanese student girl. So alive! So full of ardour!
It was 1980, I'd seen pictures of those revolutionaries
Not believing they were real -
And here she was smiling up at me, ‘Teacher?’ she says.
and
Construction and destruction -
Hard to live here, when, stepping out one morning, you discover your bank
Is a pile of rubble, and a team of workmen are
Nailing up hoardings with words that say
(Awkwardly in English): Welcome You to Enjoy Beijing Olympics.
and
Cicadas signal the start of the summer heat,
Hot nights lying awake on a bamboo mat
Itching and scratching, trying to keep cool.
Now it’s dawn, and a chorus of birds and buses
And little dogs yapping drive away the remnants of sleep.
From Lee - Hungary Confucius is crying
Harkuin is speachless
Insatiable greed
Not even Buddha could watch
another generation of slaughter
From Hellena Call to arms in LuXün's words
High expectations waiting for their generations
In my opinion is a world of mysterious
Nevertheless is a larger-than-life
According to their spirit of harmonious
From Greg - Australia Chinese Modern History
China, Combines with Communism;
History, Horror and Hope.
Internalised Insanity and Inspiration;
Nihilism, Narcissism and Nobility
Arranged Around Aspiration.
and
From Paige - New York
Chosen
Herbal Medicine
Instead.
Neglected
America.
From Tom - Canada
Colours of gold and red the large banquet
Hall glitters of dragons and smiling faces
In pictures of her daughter's wedding in Toronto.
Noting her pride, asked, "You pay?"
"Ah, one time foolish!" she laughs.
From Joyce - Juno Beach Day 6
Chopsticks
Head-dress
Ink brush
Num(e)rous
Ancients
Day 5 - awakening, alliterating anon - imagination, touch/sight, hearing, taste, names, ego, nature, culture
Celestial country
Heavenly homeland
Ideal imag(e)ry:
Nevermore needy,
Always abundant.
and
China - (en)cre (de) Chine
Holds, handles handsomely
India(n) ink, inkwell
Nimbly (a-)nurturing
Aesthetic artistry.
and
Chimes, cithars, cowbells,
Harp hearkening hearts,
Ivory icons
Nourishing nature's
Awe-aspiring airs.
and
Cherries,
Honeys,
Ivies,
Nectarines
Amandines [almond ambrosia].
and
Chan(g), Chai, Char, Check, Chen(g), Chiang, Chin(g), Cho(ng), Chou(w), Choy, Chuck, Chu(n)(g),
Han, Hani, Hee, Ho(h), Hom, Hon(g), Hu, Huang, Hwang,
Illustrious
Names
All.
and
Civilis/z/ation's Crown,
Humanity's Hero,
Inspiration's Image.
Narcis(sis)tic nepotists,
Arrogant aims amend.
and
Cyclones,
Hurricanes,
Inundations,
Nature
Away!
and
Cherish
Home
In
Nature
Alone.
and
Confucius'
Heralded
Illumined
Norm-renowned
Analects.
and
Day 4 - chefs, clothiers, characters a-crostics course
Cha (tea), cha (fork - higher relative pitch than for tea, which is pronounced at "do"/C, while fork is a melodic 5th above at "sol"/G), cha siu (barbecue pork), cha siu bow (BBQ pork bun),
Ha (shrimp), ha gow (shrimp dumpling), hom don (salted duck egg), hom yui (salted fish),
I/yeen
Naw mi (glutinous uncooked rice), naw mi fon (glutinous cooked rice),
Aohm! (onomatop(o)eia of Toisanese parent spoon-feeding child).
and
Cheung-sam (long dress)
Houng sic (red color for happiness)
I/yee wan (earrings)
Now (button)
Ah! (onlookers' response)
and
Come - "loy" = composite character comprised of: separate character for ten ("sup"), resembling large, tall cross with small horizontal bar & long vertical beam starting above & going straight down the center of the horizontal bar & much below; 2 smaller identical characters for person ("yun") = 2 small persons, 1 on each side of central cross beam; & 1 large character for another person ("yun"), representing Christ on the cross, forming a superimposed character (minus the 2 persons) for wood ("mook") with the body's 2 extremities - invitation to come to the wooden cross;
"Hawn" - Cantonese for see; look; composite character comprised of: character for hand ("sow") on top, ending to left, revealing character for sight ("mook") - behold (the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the world);
"I" - Mandarin for one - individually;
Noah and the
Ark - Chinese word for "ship" is composed of 3 separate characters: 1 on the left, which by itself means "boat"; 2 on the right: at the top is the character for the number "8", & at the bottom is the character for the word "mouth" (as in mouths to be fed, or "persons"). Noah's Ark was a boat carrying 8 human mouths to be fed: Noah + wife, & Noah's 3 sons (Shem, Ham, Japheth) & their wives (4 couples = 8 mouths). Written Chinese seems to have been developed at a time of its awareness of the Biblical flood & Noah's Ark
and - Day 3 - additional alliterating almost anap(a)ests awakened
Cathay - Cosmos' Chosen Center
Harnessing horses, humanity
Instituting ice cream, ink, incense,
Needles, noodles, nuking novelties,
Acrobatics, arts, acupuncture.
and
Chinois(e)rie
History
Instant-li
NiceTea
Amity
and
Contemporary citizenry,
Hear here humble Hani harmony.
Indigo ink illuminating
New-fangled notions, notwithstanding,
Ancient ancestors all adoring.
and - Day 2 - Confucian Confusion?
Chairman cult churns culture
High Han, humble Hani
India(n) ink-inspired.
Noise nixes nice Nature
Ancestors abandoned.
Rom Harry - Cumbria
Chairman Mao
Holds sway still
In minds rooted in the past.
New China is vibrant
And new found freedoms will prevail
From Caroline - Cumbria
Cold
Horror of
Insurgents’ murder
Noble students
Assassinated for Truth
From Andrew - Papigoe
Cherish your philosophies,
hold to them close in troubled times;
idiots speak only of markets,
never of true freedom.
Avow to be priceless.
From Paul - London
cleaning my bowl with tea, she empties it on the tablecloth.
here and there the past pokes through;
new cities, old people.
in the streets strange aromas find the nose
and everything seems the other way around.
From Greta - London
colourful dragon, ancient times of
hortitative nurture of learning and lore immersed
in living the yin and yang with
nature entwined in civilisation,
ally and ambrosia to my mind.
From Chen - China
Changes in the old country
Hold the hopes
I Can See it
Nothing can stopped it
All will be true
From Ian - Australia
Can't think of a bloody thing to say that won't offend the US of A.
Haven't found the Chinese lacking
In their work, in business or their play.
Now there's more than meets the eye,
At the olympics will we see men die?
and
Crafty businessmen supreme,
Have a watch or you they'll cream!
In the Olympic spirit grande
Now we progress Hand-in-Hand
And leave our heads deep in the sand!
and
Contrast the present with the past
Have a care or we'll come last.
In blessed ignorance we meet them
Now friends inside the circles emblem
And after that.... what happens then?
and
Chinese have all of the power they need but
Hundreds of millions of mouths still to feed.
It's evident soon they will need to expand.
Now is the time to make them our friend
And save us the fight that may well be the end.
and
China competes now in every way
Hammerthrow, diving and all sorts of play.
In fact that's the problem she faces right now
Nothing reverses the loss of good face
And gracious forgiving always wins every race.
From Jim - Shanghai
China is an amazing land,
Her people are as many as her rivers’ sand
Incredible Great Wall testifies the glorious past
Name of hers appears on almost every tag of brand
Alas,I love thee -- my motherland!
From Shuai - Shanghai
Centuries of glory remotely in our history;
Horrors and turmoil, our unwanted memories.
Instead we wish the future full of hope.
Never again the yoke of misdirection,
Atop East Asia shall Mother China be perfection.
(co-authored with Ian in Australia)
From Jay - San Francisco
Confucious says
Hear wisdom speak
Invite her as a guest
Nurture friendship evermore
Abide serenely blest
From Katherine - Gloucestershire Calligraphy- simple strokes of the brush
Hold captivating beauty
In the darkness of ink
Now capturing history
And myth
From Gareth - London Chestnuts in single line water kites
History in bow waves and vapour trails
Industry incandescent
No persuasion without concession
Ancients held together way before New Kids
and
COGS cheap
Heavy industry demands
Investments a sure thing
Niggled over human rights
Africa is a deal to be done
From Richard - Essex
China for me is
Hongbin's poetry
In his characters
Now exiled:
A testament.
and
China can
Have an
Identity
Not an
Attitude
From Russell - Scotland
Changing world powers
Hinge eastward
Ideology of new markets and promise
Newly outsourced and manufactured
Awareness of this beyond the 'made in' mark?
From Ian - Australia
China forever
History has shown
iconic leaders.
Now let it be known,
always ahead,and they go it alone.
From Justin - Edinburgh China - US - diplomacy
Henry Kissinger and Nixon;
In 1971
Needed pinp pong balls, then:
A new relationship peculiarly started
and
Chinese red army in London streets
How this looked to my father
In rows: banging bin lids
Noise: intimidation tricks
And london bobbies baffled in 66
and
Chinese whispers speak of change:
Hear not this - but look:
Into alleys and old houtongs
Near palaces and summer gardens, within passages of the red book.
After change - one must look back to see where one belongs.
and
Confucius
History
Inspires
Newly
Affluent
and
Channels of information blocked
History: denied
Its victims unvoiced
Nanjing: a point of brutality
Asks now for equal voices
From Mark - Leicestershire
chi & mountains ancient as mist
held health’s reservoirs rivers
inscribed ground with life
now steel & beef writhe
as one wronged dragon
and
along a long long wall walk back
near a warrior's last step
in time
hear air through apricot trees
cry
Form Alessandro - Italy
China is a Far East land
How distant, unknown, like an end.
In the modern word of our times
Newly expanding markets arise.
A pulsating humanity yet remains.
Christine - Reading
Captured on china
Heralded by history
Imitated elsewhere
Never forgotten
Advanced for its time.
May - China
Chess, where
Hustle peonies
In the poem of Pound,
New moon of ancient light
Ajar, plumbing the silence of Bo-ya.
"Bo-ya" was a master of playing the zither. He broke his zither after Zhong Zi-qi, the One who knew his tone, died.
From Rodrigo - London
Can one truly say what one see, or
Hear through walls of greatness,
Inside the temples of numinous incense
Never to be forgotten or lost by their quietness
Amidst the ever-growing din of humanity?
From Sue - Coventry
Confucius, print, gunpowder smoke
Hard-pressed, long suffering, peasant folk
Industry, artistry, Lap sang tea
Nature's punch bag, devastation
Ancient, wise and wondrous nation.
From Stuart - St. Ippolyts Come on you Reds!Long tails loose,sharp shark's fin.
Hang in there.No defence like attack
In this beautiful game, you mustn't turn back.
Numbers up front, no numbers you lack,
And turn this match from a tie to a win.
and
Captain Ox kicks off to Snake.
Horse heads to Dragon.Tiger's a sub and Dog's
In goal. Monkey to Rabbit on the break.
Now it's Goat's long pass to Boar
And Cock's back heel to Rat to score.
and
Come & stay with me. Let's prosper and heal.
Home is sweet.Fuk,Luk,Sau.Water,wood,fire, earth & metal.
I am your love.In heaven on earth we settle.
Now you can say,in harmony, chi is the way.
And our home is made by rules of Feng Shui.
and
Chile, China & Colombia
Have hoodwinked
International
Nuclear
Allies.
and
Cerebral
Hardline
Idealists
Nurture
Absolutism
and
Cardinal red(South),wood(East)green
Harmony is seen
In colours of black
(North)and white(West)and metal
And sweet perfumed yellow petal
and
Containers steel on the seven seas.
Hang Seng shoots up & down on its knees.
Imported currency, exported needs.
Nothing like a habit for addicts to feed
As poppies burst & scatter their seeds.
and
Confucious say, wishy washy: "Everything
Has its own beauty but not everyone sees it."
In 2008 bees, humans and rats
Now make honey, money and trash,
Advancing,like barmy armies,before the crash.
and
Cup of tea?
Hot or cold?
I don't know.
Nothing quenches
Avarice
and
Could
H5N1
Instigate
Nuclear
Alarm?
and
Can
Hoeing
Improve
National
Agriculture?
and
Cantonese & Mandarin,
Heavenly rain on mountains,
I Ching, Tao and Zen.
No dragons in
Autocracy
and
Can China accommodate and kow tow to
Hanoi or annoy and take Cambodia one day?
In doing so they risk tectonic plates.
No way of breaking this dim conundrum
And sprats can't catch mackerel today.
and
Can consumer culture cause catastrophic
Horror having homeless,hungry
Inhabitants insatiable
Needs naturally
Arrested?
and
Colossal
Home
Imposes
Nightmarish
Agenda.
From Justin - Edinburgh Cancel all appointments:
HERE IS CHINA
in now way will things be the same
NO WAY
All bets off now. China is here.
and
Changing sands shift Gobi deserts forward
Himalayas and shifting powers; uncertain
Indigenous village dialogues
No farmers to riot now
Another empire to build but not on sand
and
China's imperial city walled
Hollowed out over time
Is this an onimous sign:
Hanging Mao. Appalled?
Neither: appalled or denied
and
Clouds: re-form, blurring
humidity - issues over borders.
Impending storms are stirring
New World jigsaw re-orders.
Anxiety bubbling almost curdling
and
Chinese tea ceremony - we are captured
Hinders our tourist progress
Installed as language buddies. Raptured
No way out, no lesson recess.
Always think carefully: when faced with English practice request
From David - London
China, vast country
Hangs
In the balance of time
Nebulous,
Anxious.
From Matthew - London
Change has a name: the other that was is not the other that is.
(Humanity sprawls and crowds your vast fastness,
Inhumanity veins and wrinkles your body's memory.)
Now night is drawing in
And I look for you.
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