Yang Mu

When Yang was 16, only a middle school student, he started off using the pen name Yeh Shan (葉珊) and publishing his own works in several poetry magazines such as Blue Star, Modern Poetry and Genesis. Then he entered Tunghai University and studied history.[1] However, he later found that it went against his genuine interest and finally transferred to the Department of Foreign Languages to pursue his literary ideals. At that time, Yang exposed himself to British romantic poetry and was directly influenced by some defining members of the English Romantic Movement, like William Wordsworth, Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley and John Keats.

After his graduation from Tunghai University, Yang chose to go to the United States for further study. In 1966, he obtained his Master of Fine Arts (English: Creative Writing) at the University of Iowa.[1] While pursuing master's studies at Iowa, Yang wrote 15 letters to Keats. This practice ended after Yang left Iowa.[3] Notably, a group of writers who later have become leading figures in the literary scene in contemporary Taiwan like Bai Xianyong, Yu Guangzhong, Ye Weilian and Wang Wenxing, were all his alumni at UI. And in 1971, he gained Ph.D of Comparative Literature at the University of California, Berkeley.[4] His studying in America, obviously, contributed to the changes of his poetry style. Since 1972, he has written a series of works to convey his deep concern about the social reality under his new pen name Yang Mu (楊牧). Changing from emphasizing sentimental and romantic feelings to intervening in social issues, the works in Yang's later period appear to be more calm, reserved and profound.

Yang used to teach at National Taiwan University (1975–76,1983–84), Princeton University (1978–79), and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (1991–94); during 1996-2001 he was Professor of Chinese and founding Dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at National Dong Hwa University in Hualien, Taiwan; and during 2002–06, the Distinguished Research Fellow and Director in the Institute of Chinese Literature and Philosophy at Academia Sinica in Taipei, Taiwan. He later became Professor Emeritus of Comparative Literature at the University of Washington and Chair Professor of Taiwanese Literature at National Chengchi University.[5]

Yang was admitted to Cathay General Hospital in Taipei in March 2020, where he lapsed into a coma. He died on March 13, 2020, aged 79.[6][7]

As a prolific writer, Yang published 14 poetry collections, 15 prose collections and 1 verse play. His early works include On the Water Margin (水之湄), Flower Season (花季), Lantern Boat (燈船) and Legends (傳說). These poetry collections were published under the pen name Ye Shan (葉珊) and were publicly thought to have created a new way of writing romantic poems.

Later, he was known to his readers as Yang Mu (楊牧) and published 12 other poetry collections such as Manuscripts Sealed in a Bottle (瓶中稿), Songs of the Little Dipper (北斗行), A Game of Taboos (禁忌的遊戲), The Coast with Seven Turns (海岸七疊), Someone (有人) A Complete Fable (完整的寓言), Ventures (涉事), Diaspsis Patelliformi (介殼蟲), Songs long and short (長短歌行) and so forth. Among them, Songs of the Little Dipper (北斗行) published in 1978, was prefaced by the famous Taiwanese novelist Wang Wenxing (王文興). In this preface, Wang spoke highly of its success in applying language and said that it took an important step towards achieving the new order of modern Chinese poetry.

Wu Feng: A Play in Four Acts (吳鳳), a verse play published in 1979, was another notable work. Through the narration of a story based on Taiwanese history, Yang expressed his praise for benevolence and human rationality. As a versatile writer, Yang's prose collections have also received much recognition. These works are mainly represented by Annual Ring (年輪), Storms over Hills and Ocean (山風海雨), The Completion of a Poem (一首詩的完成), The Midday Hawk (亭午之鷹) and Then as I Went Leaving (昔我往矣). They share some common themes, ranging from hometown memories to social criticism.

Yang's works have been translated into English, German, French, Japanese, Swedish Dutch, etc. No trace of the Gardener: Poems of Yang Mu (translated by Lawrence R. Smith & Michelle Yeh, New Haven: Ct. Yale University Press, 1998) and The Forbidden Game and Video Poems: The Poetry of Yang Mu and Lo Ch'ing (translated by Joseph R. Allen, Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1993) are two of his poetry collections available in English.[1]

The Yang Mu Literature Lecture Series and Literary Award at National Dong Hwa University College of Humanities and Social Sciences are named after him.[8]

He donated his personal library to create the Yang Mu Study at the National Dong Hwa University library.[9]

• Xi Murong
• Hualing Nieh Engle

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Yang Mu.

• The Official Website of Yang Mu
• 古继堂 (1989). 台湾新诗发展史 [History of Poetry in Taiwan] (in Chinese). 人民文学出版社.
• Poems of Yang Mu, China Poetry Library
• Yang Mu Website constructed by Research Center for Humanities and Social Sciences, National Chung-hsing University, Taiwan.