Liu Shahe

Yu Xuntan (; 11 November 1931 – 23 November 2019), known by his pen name Liu Shahe , was a Chinese writer and poet. The son of a Sichuan landowner who was executed in the Land Reform Movement, he began publishing in 1948 and became a professional writer in 1952. He co-founded the poetry magazine Stars in 1956, but was denounced as a "filial descendant of the landlord class" when the Anti-Rightist Campaign began in 1957. For the next two decades he performed hard labour and was exiled to the countryside until the end of the Cultural Revolution. He resumed publishing in 1978, and his collection, Poems of Liu Shahe, won the National Prize for Poetry.

Biography Yu Xuntan was born on 11 November 1931 in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, Republic of China. His parents were small landowners from Jintang County near Chengdu, and the family moved back to Jintang in 1935. His father worked for the Kuomintang government, and for that reason was killed by the Communist Party during the Land Reform Movement. These poems used plant imagery to characterize aspects of life in the People's Republic of China. A trial of Liu was overseen by the head of the propaganda department in Sichuan, who mitigated the harshest criticisms of Liu.

Selected books

The Country Nocturnes 农村夜曲 (1956) [農村夜曲], first collection of poems Windows 窗 (1956) [窗], collection of short stories Farewell to Mars 告别火星 (1957) [告別火星], second collection of poems Poems of Liu Shahe 流沙河诗话 (1982) [流沙河詩話], winner of the National Prize for Poetry Track of the Wanderer 游踪 (1983) [游蹤], collection of poems Goodbye, Hometown 故园别 (1983) [故園別], collection of poems Twelve Taiwan Poets 台湾诗人十二家[臺灣詩人十二家], commentary on Taiwanese poetry Talking of Poetry Across the Sea 隔海说诗[隔海說詩], commentary on Taiwanese poetry Sources: