Prominent cultural figures and friends gathered yesterday for the funeral of poet Chou Meng-tieh (周夢蝶) in Taipei, where they recalled the life of the meditative poet and celebrated the man and his beautiful creations.
Chou died on May 1 at age 92 due to complications from pneumonia.
Those who came to pay their respects placed a flower inside the poet’s casket. Admirers and people close to him spoke about Chou’s contributions to literature.
Photo: Pan Shao-tang, Taipei Times
Poet Hsiang Ming (向明) dedicated a poem to his longtime friend, recalling Chou’s bright eyes that “never lost focus” despite the passage of time.
“He chose to be a poet after having been through war. He not only wrote poetry — his life was a poem itself,” writer Chang Show-foong (張曉風) said.
Also in attendance was Culture Minister Lung Ying-tai (龍應台), who praised the late poet for his personality as well as his works.
“His poetry, character and perseverance are like a national flag for Taiwan — a flag that represents beauty and pureness, and depth of heart,” Lung said.
Presidential Office Secretary-General Timothy Yang (楊進添) presented a posthumous presidential citation for Chou to the late poet’s friend Tseng Chin-feng (曾進豐).
The citation called Chou an “undying legend” of Taiwan’s cultural history, praising his works for capturing the essence of Zen Buddhism and enriching contemporary Chinese poetry.
Chou was born Chou Chi-shu (周起述) in China’s Henan Province in 1921.
He joined the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) China Youth Corps during the Chinese Civil War and came to Taiwan in 1948 with the party, leaving behind his wife, children and mother.
He began selling poetry and books in Taipei in 1959, the same year he published his first collection of poems, Gu Du Guo (“Lonely Land”), which became one of his most important works.
In 1997 he was named the first literature laureate of the National Culture and Arts Foundation.
His poems are deeply influenced by Buddhist thought and have a meditative quality. They often touch on subjects of time, life and death.
Chou wrote more than 400 poems, which have been published in Taiwan and overseas, including in China, the US, France and South Korea.
He was known for living a simple and low-key life. He never remarried and had no relatives in Taiwan.
Taiwan is to have nine extended holidays next year, led by a nine-day Lunar New Year break, the Cabinet announced yesterday. The nine-day Lunar New Year holiday next year matches the length of this year’s holiday, which featured six extended holidays. The increase in extended holidays is due to the Act on the Implementation of Commemorative and Festival Holidays (紀念日及節日實施條例), which was passed early last month with support from the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party. Under the new act, the day before Lunar New Year’s Eve is also a national holiday, and Labor Day would no longer be limited
Taiwan is to extend its visa-waiver program for Philippine passport holders for another year, starting on Aug. 1, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Friday. Lin made the announcement during a reception in Taipei marking the 127th anniversary of Philippine independence and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The decision reflected Taiwan’s commitment to deepening exchanges with the Philippines, the statement cited Lin as saying, adding that it was a key partner under the New Southbound Policy launched in 2016. Lin also expressed hope
Costa Rica sent a group of intelligence officials to Taiwan for a short-term training program, the first time the Central American country has done so since the countries ended official diplomatic relations in 2007, a Costa Rican media outlet reported last week. Five officials from the Costa Rican Directorate of Intelligence and Security last month spent 23 days in Taipei undergoing a series of training sessions focused on national security, La Nacion reported on Friday, quoting unnamed sources. The Costa Rican government has not confirmed the report. The Chinese embassy in Costa Rica protested the news, saying in a statement issued the same
Temperatures in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店) climbed past 37°C yesterday, as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) issued heat alerts for 16 municipalities, warning the public of intense heat expected across Taiwan. The hottest location in Taiwan was in Sindian, where the mercury reached 37.5°C at about 2pm, according to CWA data. Taipei’s Shilin District (士林) recorded a temperature of 37.4°C at noon, Taitung County’s Jinfeng Township (金峰) at 12:50 pm logged a temperature of 37.4°C and Miaoli County’s Toufen Township (頭份) reached 36.7°C at 11:40am, the CWA said. The weather agency yesterday issued a yellow level information notice for Taipei, New
RSS