Wangfujing - Summer Palace, a poem by Yang Lian translated by Brian Holton

Wangfujing - Summer Palace is a poem by Yang Lian, translated from the Chinese by Brian Holton and printed in issue 32 of The Wolf.

The poem moves between two sites in Beijing, the Wangfujing district and the Summer Palace, and draws on figures from the city's history. These include a concubine who threw herself into a well, the Empress Dowager and the singer Mei Lanfang. Gates of the palace are named in turn, and the poem sets a camera and a tourist map against that history.

Work

Wangfujing - Summer Palace

Author

Yang Lian

Poems in this selection

• Wangfujing - Summer Palace