Renowned poet Chou Meng-tieh (周夢蝶) died in New Taipei City on Thursday at the age of 92 from complications associated with pneumonia.
Along with his poetry, Chou was known for his monk-like habits, which he adopted after immersing himself in Buddhism later in life.
Born in China’s Henan Province in December, 1921, Chou’s original name was Chou Chi-shu (周起述).
Photo: CNA
During the Chinese Civil War, he joined the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) youth corps and came to Taiwan in 1948 after the KMT lost the Chinese civil war.
He was separated from his family, including his grandparents, mother, wife and children, who all remained in China.
However, after five decades apart, Chou revisited his hometown.
At 32, Chou began to write poetry, which was published in the literary pages of Central Daily News and Young Soldier Daily (the forerunner of Youth Daily News).
In the 1950s, Chou became a member of the Blue Star Poetry Society (藍星詩社), an influential gathering of mostly Chinese poets and writers.
In 1959, Chou began selling poetry and literature in front of Cafe Astoria on Wuchang Street (武昌街) in central Taipei, which was a favorite hangout of intellectuals at the time.
That year, he published a collection of poems, entitled Gudu Guo (孤獨國, Lonely Land), which is his most well-known work.
Later in life, Chou delved into Buddhism and took up Zen meditation.
A picture of Chou sitting on a street corner, quietly meditating, became one of the symbolic images of an era, showing a literary man’s solitude against the backdrop of Taipei’s hustle and bustle.
Inspired by Confucian tradition and philosophy, Chou did not pursue material gains and lived a simple life, alone, throughout his adult life.
As a poet, Chou picked up the nom de plume of “Meng-tieh” (夢蝶), which means the “dream butterfly.”
He said it was inspired by Taoist master philosopher Chuang-Tze’s (莊子) famous tale about a butterfly dream.
The name is reflects his yearning for freedom, as well as his frugal, restrained way of living.
Highly regarded in Taiwan’s cultural circles, Chou was named the first literature laureate of the National Culture and Arts Foundation in 1997.
Hung Chung-hao (洪崇豪), spokesperson for the Buddhist Tzu Chi General Hospital in New Taipei City’s Xinzhuang District (新莊) where Chou was treated, said that Chou did not have any relatives in Taiwan.
Instead, many of his student followers are helping to arrange the funeral in accordance with Buddhist traditions.
On the news of Chou’s death, the Ministry of Culture released a statement and requested that the Presidential Office issue posthumous honors for Chou.
AGING: While Japan has 22 submarines, Taiwan only operates four, two of which were commissioned by the US in 1945 and 1946, and transferred to Taiwan in 1973 Taiwan would need at least 12 submarines to reach modern fleet capabilities, CSBC Corp, Taiwan chairman Chen Cheng-hung (陳政宏) said in an interview broadcast on Friday, citing a US assessment. CSBC is testing the nation’s first indigenous defense submarine, the Hai Kun (海鯤, Narwhal), which is scheduled to be delivered to the navy next month or in July. The Hai Kun has completed torpedo-firing tests and is scheduled to undergo overnight sea trials, Chen said on an SET TV military affairs program. Taiwan would require at least 12 submarines to establish a modern submarine force after assessing the nation’s operational environment and defense
A white king snake that frightened passengers and caused a stir on a Taipei MRT train on Friday evening has been claimed by its owner, who would be fined, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday. A person on Threads posted that he thought he was lucky to find an empty row of seats on Friday after boarding a train on the Bannan (Blue) Line, only to spot a white snake with black stripes after sitting down. Startled, he jumped up, he wrote, describing the encounter as “terrifying.” “Taipei’s rat control plan: Release snakes on the metro,” one person wrote in reply, referring
The coast guard today said that it had disrupted "illegal" operations by a Chinese research ship in waters close to the nation and driven it away, part of what Taipei sees a provocative pattern of China's stepped up maritime activities. The coast guard said that it on Thursday last week detected the Chinese ship Tongji (同濟號), which was commissioned only last year, 29 nautical miles (54km) southeast of the southern tip of Taiwan, although just outside restricted waters. The ship was observed lowering ropes into the water, suspected to be the deployment of scientific instruments for "illegal" survey operations, and the coast
An inauguration ceremony was held yesterday for the Danjiang Bridge, the world’s longest single-mast asymmetric cable-stayed bridge, ahead of its official opening to traffic on Tuesday, marking a major milestone after nearly three decades of planning and construction. At the ceremony in New Taipei City attended by President William Lai (賴清德), Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰), Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱) and New Taipei City Mayor Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜), the bridge was hailed as both an engineering landmark and a long-awaited regional transport link connecting Tamsui (淡水) and Bali (八里)
RSS