Liang Zongdai (; 1903–1983) was a Chinese poet and translator. Born in

Baise Baise ( zh, c=百色, p=Bǎisè, Bósè; local pronunciation: ), or Bose, is the westernmost prefecture-level city of Guangxi, China bordering Vietnam as well as the provinces of Guizhou and Yunnan. The city has a population of 4.3 million, of wh ...

Guangxi Guangxi,; officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People's Republic of China, located in South China and bordering Vietnam (Hà Giang Province, Hà Giang, Cao Bằn ...

, to a father with origins in

Xinhui, Jiangmen Xinhui, postal map romanization, alternately romanization of Chinese, romanized as Sunwui and also known as Kuixiang, is an district (China), urban district of Jiangmen in Guangdong, China. It grew from a separate city founded at the confluence ...

, Guangdong, he went to Europe to study western languages in 1924. His translation of Tao Qian's poems into French was published by Lemarget, Paris in 1930, with a preface by

Paul Valéry Ambroise Paul Toussaint Jules Valéry (; 30 October 1871 – 20 July 1945) was a French poet, essayist, and philosopher. In addition to his poetry and fiction (drama and dialogues), his interests included aphorisms on art, history, letters, m ...

whom the young poet had visited at home in 1926. He was one of the most popular "new poets" writing in

free verse Free verse is an open form of poetry which does not use a prescribed or regular meter or rhyme and tends to follow the rhythm of natural or irregular speech. Free verse encompasses a large range of poetic form, and the distinction between free ...

, after the

May Fourth Movement The May Fourth Movement was a Chinese cultural and anti-imperialist political movement which grew out of student protests in Beijing on May 4, 1919. Students gathered in front of Tiananmen to protest the Chinese government's weak response ...

in China. His most famous work is the non-fictional ''Poetry and Truth'' (). The title was borrowed from

Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...

's autobiography ''Dichtung und Wahrheit''. Liang's translations into Chinese include poetry by

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

, Blake, Rilke, and Valéry, as well as

Montaigne Michel Eyquem, Seigneur de Montaigne ( ; ; ; 28 February 1533 – 13 September 1592), commonly known as Michel de Montaigne, was one of the most significant philosophers of the French Renaissance. He is known for popularising the essay as ...

's essays. His translation of Goethe's ''Faust'' was destroyed during the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a Social movement, sociopolitical movement in the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). It was launched by Mao Zedong in 1966 and lasted until his de ...

. He was persecuted during the Cultural Revolution, and devoted the last part of his life to the study of Chinese medicine. He married three times. His last wife was a performer of

Cantonese opera Cantonese opera is one of the major categories in Chinese opera, originating in southern China's Guangdong Province. It is popular in Guangdong, Guangxi, Hong Kong, Macau and among Chinese communities in Southeast Asia. Like all versions of ...

, who wrote a short memoir, recollecting her relationship with the poet.

External links

20th-century Chinese poets English–Chinese translators French–Chinese translators Chinese–French translators People from Xinhui District Poets from Guangdong Victims of the Cultural Revolution 20th-century Chinese translators Translators of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Translators of William Shakespeare Writers from Jiangmen 1903 births 1983 deaths {{China-translator-stub