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Wei, An

(1960-1999) : Dichter, Schriftsteller

Name Alternative(s)

Ma, Jianguo

Subjects

Index of Names : China / Literature : China / Periods : China : People's Republic (1949-)

Chronology Entries (2)

# Year Text Linked Data
1 1986 Wei, An. From Life on earth [ID D29714].
Thomas Moran : In 1986, the poet Hai Zi introduced Wei An to Henry David Thoreau's Walden; inspired by the book. Wei An turned from poetry to prose in the style of Thoreau's observations. In the winter of 1986, Wei An read Xu Chi's translation of Walden, and the book changed his life. He discovered what he called Thoreau's "free, unrestrained, simple and open" organic style, and began composing in prose that, like Thoreau's, was poetic. He said the middle way fit him.
As an American, I have an impulse to regard him as a naturalist, but his work resists this. For Wei An, the essence of Thoreau was not a "return to nature" but rather the "completion of man." Having grown up in the age of irony, I sometimes find it difficult to translate the unguarded expression of emotion and the direct discussion of truth, beauty, and goodness that are Wei An's idioms. His work reminds me, however, that our engagement with nature must necessarily be both romantic and scientific, and that the two cannot—or at least should not—be separated.
2 1998 Wei, An. Wo yu Suoluo [ID D29769].
Wei An admits that it is Henry David Thoreau's Walden that has made him turn to prose from poetry : "I can still recall vividly my excitement at my first reading of the book. My love of the book has been far unparalleled and I almost feel like giving up my poetry writing."

Bibliography (1)

# Year Bibliographical Data Type / Abbreviation Linked Data
1 1998 Wei, An. Wo yu Suoluo. In : Shi jie wen xue ; vol. 5 (1998). [Thoreau and I].
我与梭罗 		Publication / THD71

Secondary Literature (1)

# Year Bibliographical Data Type / Abbreviation Linked Data
1 2012 Wei, An. From Life on earth. Translated by Thomas Moran. In : Manoa ; vol. 24, no 1 (2012).
http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/manoa/v024/24.1.wei.html. 		Publication / THD24