Western Influences in the Poetry of Dai Wangshu

Abstract : This article looks at the presence of traces French poetry and literature in general in the poetry of Dai Wangshu (1905-1950). It attempts to show that contrary to widespread assumptions, major symbolist poets such as Baudelaire and Mallarmé is absent from Dai's early literary imaginary; he would only discover and translate them later in life. His early to mid-career poetry was written in the shadow of neo-Symbolist early 20thC poets such as Francis Jammes and Paul Fort, both of whose poems he translated into Chinese.