HO Khai-Leong

Modern Chinese Poetry in Malaysia

In: Archipel. Volume 19, 1980. pp. 199-206.

Citer ce document / Cite this document :

Khai-Leong HO. Modern Chinese Poetry in Malaysia. In: Archipel. Volume 19, 1980. pp. 199-206.
doi : 10.3406/arch.1980.1539
http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/arch_0044-8613_1980_num_19_1_1539

MODERN CHINESE POETRY IN MALAYSIA

by HO Khai-Uong
Aristotle once remarked that literature does not tell what has
actually happened, but what might happen, the kinds of things a certain
kind of person will say or do (probably or necessarily) in a given situa
tion. The literature of Malaysian Chinese may tell other people about
the same probabilities and necessities of the people that has produce it.
Since poetry is the noble of literature, it is not surprising that it is
used as the most vigorous mean of expression. Modern poetry is born
in response to the needs of the modern poets. What the modern Chi
nese poets in Malaysia hope to achieve is to lead the reader into a
feeling which is largely Chinese and probably, at its best, belongs to the
Malaysian Chinese life only. But the question is : with a medium, that
is pai-hua, or colloquial Chinese, deviated from the literary Chinese, ta
what extent the modern Malaysian Chinese poets, can divert their clas
sical or original Chinese identity and turn to Malaysianised poetic
mode ?
It should be noted that, when we speak of Malaysian modern Chi
nese poetry, we must consider two important facts :
1) Classical Chinese poetry has a long, rich and continual tradition.
It has been constantly reborn and reorientated and has never ceased to
be active and to manifest its vigor. It has a tremendous influence upon
the minds and moods of the Malaysian poets, as can be seen from their
works. 2) Modern Chinese poetry in Malaysia has been very much in
fluenced
by the modern Taiwanese poets. While the wide spread use of
new forms, techniques and emphasis resulting from the western impact
on Taiwan, the modern elements of poetry also had great impact upon
Malaysian Chinese Literature. Now the Malaysian Chinese have left

200
behind some of the traditional genre of poetry in their writing. For the
Chinese of the past, life was determined by wind and water, and per
haps the earliest Chinese Literary work we have is a peasant song, trans
lated into English by Ezra Pound in 1948. :
Sun up, work
sundown, to rest
dig well and drink of the water
dig field, eat of the grain
Imperial power is ? and to us what is it ?
After ail the political, environmental, geographical and economical
changes through the centuries, the poets in Malaysia have somewhat
implied a different way of life. The so-called three Teachings : Con
fucianism,
Taoism and Buddhism have actually disappeared in modern
poetry writing. But we notice that some writers have in one way or
another retain their poetic mode : the background, the character, and
the events. And their realization is to make use of new forms and tech
niques
borrowed from the west. Some even have imitated western types
of poetry. Sometimes the only native element is that of the local words.
It is no accident that modern Malaysian Chinese man of letters should
show western influence. Some of the Chinese students went abroad, es
pecial y
the United States and Taiwan, to acquire Western Learning
and to bring back new technique to modernise Malaysian Chinese poetry.
Modern Chinese poetry was said to be born when Pai-yau, pu
blished
his Standing quietly by the Muar River in the Student Weekly
in 1959. From then on, modern poetry have been going through
many hardships and attacked by many traditional writers, but it flour
ishes till now. Those poets of the early periods, like Pai-yau him self,
Chou-fan, Lim-leuk, Lee Yau-chen have virtually stopped writing or
their poems seldom appear. It is a surprising and unfortunate phenome
na
that a poet's literary age should be so short. At present, another
period is emerging with the appearance of many young poets, such as
Sar-chin", Woon Swce-onn, Foong On-chin, Ho Khai-leong, Cheong Sweesin, Sum Choew-sim, Tong-cho, Lai Swee-hoe, Chou Chin-siaw, Wong
Fon-sing. In East Malaysia, i.e. Sabah and Sarawak, those worth ment
ioning
arc Lee Mok-heong, Cheah Yiong-chen, Cheah Yiong-chew, Kewyan. These poets have something in common : they are aware of pre
senting
a poetic faith. The work of all of them, however varied in style
and technique, reflects their common concern with an age of conflicting
values, and the emotional frustration of a younger
generation confronted
Shoes*
with a multi-racial nation. Chi-fan's The
(1973) and Woon

201
Swee - onn's Chiang Joon Ling (The Orders of the General) (1975)
are the product of this period.
The first book of modern anthology was published in 1975 by. the
Sirius Poetical Society in Perak. This anthology was edited by Woon
Swee-tin, one of the pioneers in the modern poetic scene. It includes
the work of twenty-seven poets, among them are
Wong Yuen-wah
who obtained his Ph.D. in University of Wisconsin, Madison, and at
present an associate professor in Nanyang University in Singapore, Yong
Chee-kong, a once famous and prolific writer in Hong-Kong in the fif
ties, Tan-ning who is now teaching in the University of California at
Santa Barbara. Emphatically, this anthology serves to present a good pic
ture of the development of modern poetry since 1959. This book is very
much ignored by the realists and the traditional critics who do not
agree that outside intrusions have disrupted the traditional literary system.
Most of them failed to see only because their preconceptions have blin
ded them. On the whole, this book did not arouse much excitements in
the Malaysian literary world.
Since modern poetry was born, only a few poets have achieved
considerable success and indentify themselves with their own characterist
ics.
It is not surprising that because of its young age, modern poetry
is not labelled by any schools. Quite often, a poet's style and form,
attitude and mode changes from one period to another. It is sometimes;
therefore, a useless attempt to plant them into any particular school.
The five poets mentioned below have one way or another captured
considerably attention in the Malaysian scene.
Woon Swee-tin ( born in 1945 ) is the founder of the Sirius Poeti
calSociety, the largest poetry group in the Peninsula. Influenced by
classical Chinese and western poetry, Woon stresses the aesthetic quality
of lyricism. His self-dedicalion to art is symbolised in this poem :
The flesh of his arms loosely
Wrinkles a sterile idol in the niche
Thinness is his image
'
In the fire he attains his self-consumation
In many of his poems, like The Ancient Path Beyond the Wat
er-Village
Odes to the Boat, Woon writes with philosophical detach
mentand cool objectivity. In The Temple in Winter, Woon succeeds
in recapturing the desolate beauty and serenity of the Chinese culture,
not in a static form, but in the form of psychical distance :

202
The temple in severe winter
the torn and dirty paired-poems by its sides
weeping and crying
the coldness of the others
The choice of traditional Chinese symbols here is apt and imagi
native ; it deepens the sincerity of. the sentiment. Woon's depiction of
a deserted scene in a temple, he combines sensation and the visual. The
result is cool detachment. Recently, Woon has changed his style. From
his recent poems, one can see that he is, trying for a more flexible
colloquial framework, with irregular lines, lengths and natural cadences
of speeches.
In 1974, The Culture Book House in Hong- Kong published Mal
aysian
Chinese Literature which was really an anthology of peems by
several poets. Woon was much attacked by public opinions because he
was said to be the editor. To be fair, Woon chief contribution is his
introductory essay published in Taiwan and Hong-Kong magazines about
the poetry movement in the Peninsula.
Wong Tuen-wah (born 1944), an ardent scholar in his own field,
declared himself as an existentialist in the early days, (he translated Al
bert
Camus's The Stranger into Chinese ). Ironically enough, Wong is
more known in. Taiwan and Hong-Kong than in Malaysia. His poetical
works have been selected into The Selected works of Undergraduate,
Selected Poetry of the Seventies, Selected Poetry and Songs in the Sixties,
alj published in Taiwan. Now, Wong turns back to his own major :
Chinese Linguistics. He once said that he sees pictures and symIbcfts in the writing of a square Chinese character. They are like pain
tings to him. The word well (ching) is seen from above, and the
word rain (yu) is seen from the bottom.
The Blue Sky
Looks like a black tread.
The black cloud
Looks like a tent.
Bitter rain
Drop by
,Thc
Fall on
Drop*
GrassyGround
I
Lie
On
(Rain)

203
The last seven words are formed in such a way so as to structurise the action of look up (when lying down). Wong wrote a series
of this type of poems, like Man, Autumn, Mist, Well.
May Sook-chin (born in 1951) published May's Poems in 1972.
She exhibits a classical taste for symmetry in her poetry, which blends
symbolic flavour with a lyrical appeal and typical of her feminine per
ception.
They quite often consist of what western critics called the ro
mantic
irony. The poetess describes a picture, or recalls a memory,
then she pulls herself into it, twisting its original meaning :
Thin like the willow tree
Solitary stream flow
The splashing drop of the stream
Touches the sleeves.
We see only the Solitary Stream flow in the beginning, then a
person appears, changing the whole atmosphere :
A lot of grace
Blue water washing the clothes
Can wash and splash how many faces in this world
(Softly the stream flows).
Most of May's poems are subjective lyrics on a personal level, de
rived
from a Chinese romantic imagination. They lend an unusual grace,
tenderness and a quiet, nostalgic lyricism. It is undeniable that her range
of experience and expression is limited and narrow ; her short verses are
not poems of wide horizons nor of deep emotional intensity. Nevertheless,
within this slim range, she moves with delicacy and a classical grace.
Most of her poems like Gazing at every Mountain, The Sterile
Mountain, Little Sadness, The Flower Bay are difficult to translate,
and are very Chinese, giving us a close association of the lyrical
prose of the late-Tang period.
In Ai-werCs poetry ( born in 1944 ), we might not be able to
conclude their themes in general. Ai-wen shows the imagist's skill in
defining nature within the context of the environment. His poems are
like diaries, and frequently give surrealist impressions :
The cat cries again
Whenever the moon flows
There is a patch of long dark hair
Combing the water of the stream
( The Cat ).

204
The most-often used imageries in Ai - wen's poetry are the moon, the
breast and the hair, and quite often when they are used effectively,
they present an eerie feeling :
A young woman
Scratching the breast
Purple in colour
From the young bud
Drops of milk flow
( Works )
Another poet who deliberately makes use of his native literary
heritage is Woon Swee-onn (born 1954), who is very much influenced
by his brother Woon Swee-tin in his earlier days. His poetry is full of
classical allusions and a lot of romantic temperament. His love poems
are especially readable.
Oh this is the last hour, it is like
Our surprised first - meet
I can only hold your cold hand tightly,
Using all my warmth
Wispering once again
Your grace and beauty
(Note on Pai-ye, Chapter One)
Some of Woon's poems arc long pieces characterised by their personal
lyricism, fluent imaginery and felicitous use of the vernacular. Woon
now is trying to write epic poems like Chiang hoon ling ( The Orders of
The General), Ta ei, (Great Sorrows). This type of poetry is rare not
only in the Malaysian Chinese literary, but also in Taiwan too. His
poetry has captured considerably attention in Taiwan. Chi Pang-loun,
a professor in the National University of Taiwan has said that in
Woon's poems, their images come from the classic and modern verses.
(See Chi Pang-loun's The Swordman who writes Poetry, Chung Wai
Literary Monthly, Volume 3, 1974 June ).
It is curious, that if Woon is trying to seek his name remembered
in the Malaysian Literary world, such poetry will be able to find
ground to stand on, since they seldom consist of any new awareness
of life and native characteristics in all their complexities. Woon is at
present studiing in the National University of Taiwan. Woon once said
that his poetry concentrate only on the assimilation of the classic
and the modern, and especially trying on the idea of assimilation.
But many critics find his poems can only achieve the background of
classic colour. As far as assimilation is concerned, Woon still has a
long way to go.

205
Chinese poets of Malaysia have been free to seek aesthetic and
intellectual stimulation from the widely varied world market of letters
and ideas. An advantage is that they are removed from iconoclastic
influence of the early poets in China, and this gives them an oppor
tunity to reassess their own literary tradition. Most of the young poets,
of diverse social backgrounds, are not intellectuals, but are familiar
with more than one language and literature. Modern poetry in Malaysia
is still at its youth, and undoubtedly consists of many faults. Much
due to the country'3 political situation, most of the poets sour away
from the topical and the social to a realm of pure imagination, and
most of the time, their works are of no social and political implications.
Poetry is, after all, a significant part of the encounter between the
imaginative and experience, created by the intense interplay of feeling
and language. At this time of cultural crises, the integration of culture
in our society must concern every poet, but it must retire from the
foreground of poetic thinking, otherwise poetry would lose its angularity
before finding an expression. Many believe, as the younger generation
of poets grow to maturity, new voices of greater range and variety
will begin to emerge.
GLOSSARY

Ai -wen
Cheah Yiong-chen
Cheah Yiong-chew
Cheong Swee-sin
Chi Pang-loun
Chiang choon ling
ching
Chou Chin-siaw
Chou-f an

jt-

Foong On-chin
Ho Khai-leong
Kew-yan
Lai Swee-hoe
Lee Mok-heong
Lee Yan-chen
Lim-leuk
May Sook-chin
pai-hua

y^ "|^J

Pai-yau

>Sr

^j

Sar-chin
Sum Choew-sim
Ta pei
Tan-ning
Tong-cho
Wong Fon-sing
Wong Yuen-wah
Woon Swee-onn
Yong Chee-kong

_
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