StephenOwen:Chinesepoetryisaneducationinhowtoseeandexperiencetheworld_GuangmingOnlineGMW.cn:Resonanceisregardedbymanyastheglamourofliterature,thatis,thewordsoftheauthorexpressthefeelingofthereaderexactly.AsyouhavereadTangpoemsforover50years,hastherebeenamomentoraperiodoftime,whenapieceofpoemhasresonatedwithyoulikethat?Imean,eventhoughthepoemwaswrittenhundredsofyearsagoinChina,ittouchedyoursoulinacertainmomentforithadaccuratelyexpressedyourvoice.StephenOwen:Ofcoursetherearemomentsinlifewhenthewordsofapoemarejustright;andatsuchmomentsIthinkofthosepoems.ButChinesepoetryisnotmerelyavoiceforfeelingsandthoughtsthatapersonalreadyhas;itisalsoaneducationinhowtoseeandexperiencetheworld.Thathasshapedmeovertheyears.ThegreatearlyQingcriticYeXiespokeofhowtherewereaspectsoftheworldthatcouldonlybesaidinpoetry.GMW.cn:HasclassicalChineseliteratureinfluencedyourlifestyleorhowyoubehaveyourself?Ifyes,couldyoupleasenameafewaspectsoftheinfluence?StephenOwen:Ithinkmyanswertothefirstquestionisthebestanswerhere.Idon’tpretendtobeaChinesepoet;theirworldislonggone.Liketherestofus,Iamachildofthepresent.Butthepoetrylivesinthepresent,shapingthewaywenoticethingsinourworldfromthevisibleworldtothefeelingsofothersandoneself.GMW.cn:YouwerefirstlyattractedbyTangpoemsattheageof14,whichmightbeafeelingof“flipped”atthattime.Inthedecadesafterwards,Chineseliteraturemusthavealsobroughtyouwithgreatenjoymentandgaiety.Meanwhile,youarefondofAmerican,EuropeanandJapaneseliteratureaswell.WhatarethedifferencesbetweenthefeelingsbroughttoyoubyChineseliteratureandbyliteraturefromothercountries?StephenOwen:Ibeganasaloverofpoetryandremainthat—thoughChinesepoetryobviouslyholdsaspecialplace.Chinesepoetrydoeshaveoveralldifferencesfromothertraditions,butatthesametimeeachofthosetraditionsisdifferentfromallothers.Ialwaysdisliketalkingabout“Chinesepoetry”asawhole,becausewhatismostpreciousaboutitisitsgreatdiversity.Everyattempttocharacterize“Chinesepoetry”asawholewillencounterdozensofgreatChinesepoetswhodonotfitthedescription.Thereisnosingle“essence,”butacontinuityandrangeofchangeanddifferencethatgivesthetraditionvalueandisitsenduringstrength.GMW.cn:Recently,ithasbeengreatlycontroversialthat8classicpoemshavebeendeletedfromthetextbookforthefirstgradestudentsinelementaryschoolsinShanghai,whiletheyremaininthelisteningtapes.Studentsarenolongerrequiredtoknoweverywordinthepoemortorecitethem.Instead,theyaresupposedtofeelthecontextandrhythmicbeautyofthesepoems.Areyouinfavorofthischange?Whatdoyouthinkarethebestwaystoteachchildrenancientpoetry?StephenOwen:ThisisaveryinterestingquestionandaquestionwithaverydifferentanswerthanIwouldgiveregardingteachingyoungadults.Iliketheideaof“growingupwithpoems.”Perhapschildrenshouldlearnpoetrythewaytheylearntheworldoutsidepoetry:theyfirstbecomefamiliarwithwhattheydonotfullyunderstand;then,overtime,theylearnthedetailsandthesignificanceofthingswithwhichtheyarealreadyfamiliar.Ithinkchildrenshouldmemorize(that’showtheydevelopasenseofrhythmandthebeautyofthelanguage).Whatismostimportant,however,istokeepreturningtothepoems,betterlearningthelanguage,thecontext,andthefamilyofotherpoemsinwhichthepoemtheyhaveknownsincechildhoodisembedded.Oneofthemostgratifyingexperiencesasateacheristhelookonastudent’sfacewhenheorshesuddenlyunderstandssomethingessentialinapoemthatstudenthadknownsincechildhood.GMW.cn:Peoplehaveastereotypethatliteratureexpertsstayalooffromthemundaneworld.WhenyouaredoingresearchonChineseclassicliterature,haveyoueverpaidattentiontothedevelopmentofcontemporaryChina?Suchasthereform,anti-corruption,economyandetcs.DoesyourstudyonChineseclassicpoetryandculturehelpyoutounderstandcontemporaryChinabetter?StephenOwen:Iamabelieverin“liberalarts”educationinthefollowingsense:educationandreadingisnotobviouslypurposeful,givingusthemeanstounderstandoneparticularthingoranother.Ithelpsmakeusawholeperson,sensitivetotheforcesatworkinanyphenomenonandabletoasktheimportantquestions.Sotheanswerisyes,Chinesepoetryalongwiththerestofmyeducationshelpsmeunderstandcontemporaryissues—notjustinChina.InterviewedbyZhengYiGMW.cnEditor:ZhengYiDisclaimerTheviewsandopinionsexpressedinthisarticlearethoseoftheauthor's,GMW.cnmakesnorepresentationsastoaccuracy,suitability,orvalidityofanyinformationonthissiteandwillnotbeliableforanyerrors,omissions,ordelaysinthisinformation.