Publications Related to Xu Zhimo
The Life of Xu Zhimo Cambridge & China
Zilan Wang
A catalogue of an exhibition on ‘Xu Zhimo, Cambridge and China’ held in the Antechapel of King’s College Cambridge from July to October 2014. Curated by Zilan Wang and Alan Macfarlane and others on behalf of the Cambridge Rivers Project. A dual language book in English and Chinese.
Collection of the Most Beautiful Poems
Each year, hundreds of thousands of Chinese tourists come to visit Cambridge, inspired Xu Zhimo’s poem Second Farewell to Cambridge.
In 1921, Xu Zhimo, a talented young man from South China, arrived in the small city of Cambridge for the first time. From that moment, his literary career began. He loved and suffered here, which made his life controversial.
The music over and everyone has left, but the River Cam remains the same; Zhimo’s pursuit of love, freedom and beauty lies in his poetry. This bilingual collection of Zhimo’s poetry has selected his most popular poems and will be shared amongst ‘Visitors to Cambridge’ from all around the world.
Chasing the Modern
Tony S. Hsu
At the height of his literary prowess, Xu Zhimo was the most famous living poet in all of China. With his round spectacles and aristocratic profile, Xu had a face that became as iconic as his poetry. During his short life, he claimed an illustrious place in the literary canon, redefining Chinese poetry and leading literature into the modern era. But while the brilliant and charismatic Xu may have seemed to live a charming existence, he also faced near poverty, profound heartbreak, the opium addiction of his second wife, and a fiery death at age 35. In this lyrical and engaging biography, Xu’s story is poignantly told by his grandson, Tony Hsu.
Born in 1897, Xu came of age during the early twentieth century, a period when China was struggling to find its own identity — an era of nation building, violent political revolutions and passionate cultural exchange with the West. In Chasing the Modern, we follow the odyssey of Xu, who at 21, boards a ship from Shanghai to America, leaving behind his family — the dutiful and intelligent Zhang Youyi, the wife he had wed in an arranged marriage, and their infant son — and his beloved homeland to pursue a western education. In America, along with the other elite young men of his generation, he studies at Columbia University in New York. Shifting allegiances and crossing the Atlantic to continue his education in England, Xu then joins the avant-garde philosophers and writers at the storied King’s College, Cambridge Universirt, and socializes with the London literati, exchanging ideas, bon mots and champagne toasts with the Bloomsbury group.
Cambridge Xu Zhimo Poetry & Art Festival Anthology 2015
This anthology of poems and artwork was collected for the first ever Xu Zhimo Poetry and Art Festival held in King’s College, Cambridge. The festival was a chance for leading poets, artists and scholars from both Britain and China to meet and share their creations. The entire anthology is translated into both Chinese and English.
Cambridge Xu Zhimo Poetry & Art Festival Anthology 2016
A multi-lingual anthology of poetry and art issued for the Xu Zhimo Poetry and Art Festival 2016. Poets include Nobel nominated Bei Dao and Ouyang Jianghe, Nikola Madzirov (winner of the Xu Zhimo Poetry Prize for Europe & UK), Lavinia Greenlaw and Aleš Šteger. Artists include Liu Zhengcheng, Liu Chunjie, Peter Cavaciuti (winner of the Xu Zhimo Art Prize for Europe & UK), Jean Bacon and Matthew Blakely.
Cambridge Xu Zhimo Poetry and Art Festival Anthology 2017
Cambridge Xu Zhimo Poetry and Art Festival Anthology 2018
A collection of poems and artworks assembled for the fourth Xu Zhimo Poetry and Art Festival. The 2018 festival comes in conjunction with the opening of the first Chinese garden to be created within the University; it is located in King’s College by the Xu Zhimo memorial stone.
