| From the late 1970s to the early 1980s, a trend named Misty Poetry appeared in the Chinese poetry circles. The older generation of poets represented by Ai Qing was accustomed to the mode of the traditional new poetry and felt that misty poetry by younger generation of poets represented by Bei Dao obscure and hard to understand, because there were no concise and clear theme in misty poetry and no upward ideas in them. Thus the two generations of poets conducted debate for years. The generation gap appeared in the debate is the core issue under invesatigation in the thesis.Misty poets represented by Bei Dao and returned poets who came back to the poetry circles after the so-called Cultural Revolution had agreed on some points in new poetry and disagreed on others. But after debate, they went separate ways. After the creative writing mania of misty poetry, there appeared alienation and division of the two generations of poets. The older generation of poets represented by Ai Qing reflected on history under the influence of mainstream ideas while the younger generation of misty poets represented by Bei Dao rebelled outside the fold of mainstream ideas. Behind their reflective ideas and rebellious ideas were the generation gap in creative ideas, feeling and experience, expressive keynote, and artistic techniques. But historically speaking, the two generations of poets made valuable contributions to the"life poetics"of new poetry.During the"sharing-name"and"no-name"periods, after the debate concerning misty poetry, the older generation of poets represented by Ai Qing, largely could not make breakthrough in poetry writing after accusing and expressing. The younger generation of poets, the Misty Poets , also lost their initial edge, and replaced by later younger generation of poets, carried on their construction of new poetry and poetry writing appropriate to their times, and pushed for free artistic creative writing and plural poetry writing.Geneartion gap exist more or less among different generations of poets: every generation of poets create and construct tradition while criticizing and overthrowing tradition. During the development of Chinse new poetry, older generation of poets explored new frontiers of new poetry and their poetry writing were deconstructed by later generation of poets. The new poetry developed during the process of exploration and deconstruction. Debates are not one side beating another but discussion about issues in the new poetry in the new times and constituted beautiful pictures in the history of the development of new poetry. Negation and rebel against traditions is the only permanent tradition of Chinese new poetry. Understanding the generation gap between two generations of poets is helpful for us to understand the theoretical and real significance of new poetry in the present developing stage. |
