诗之光

Poems are among the most brilliant innovations of us as humans, a gift inexorably rooted in every bit of our life experiences since we were born. We write poems, we read poems, we spread poems, and we derive great varieties of feelings and thoughts from connecting ourselves to poems.

Poems are never the privilege of the few; instead, they are the crystallization of the wisdom of all. This collection of poems, with the title of Muse of Light（诗之光）, is a typical example of how the significance and value of poems can be seen in the sheer and incessant endeavor of some promising poets who, for the time being, may not be remarkably influential. Such poems, either showing pioneering styles of language use, characterized by experimental probes into mental states, or featuring in-depth reflections on the meaning of life, are manifestations of how the poets have been constructing and reconstructing their own identities as the ones to depict, demonstrate, and decipher what poems mean to who they are.

The poems selected in this book were all posted on the Wechat platform of Muse of Light and listed in the same order as they were released online. During the translating process, Professor Wu Yongqiang, Dean of the School of Foreign Languages and Literatures of SMU, has provided indispensable support both intellectually and psychologically. The phrase "thank you" is indeed insufficient to express the translators' gratitude for what Ms. Leng Tong and Professor Wu Yongqiang have done for the translation of such beautiful poems.