The Whole Courtyard Is Empty and Clear: Selected Poems of Zheng An

"The Garden is Full of Sky and Brightness" is a collection of poems rooted in the tradition of Chinese classical poetry, but flowing with modern life experience. The whole book is based on five or seven characters as its skeleton, with landscape and pastoral as its blood, and nostalgia for the past and present as its soul. It builds an emotional garden connecting the past and present in simple words. The most touching feature of the collection of poems lies in its exploration of "everyday poetry". The world described by the poet has no strange images, only bamboo poles for drying the quilt, the sound of the stream in the middle of the night, the smoke from the stove, and the chirping of insects beside the sickbed. These fragmented life scenes are captured by the poet with a keenness that is almost Zen enlightenment, and are sublimated into a gaze on the essence of life. Ultimately, this collection of poems finds a balance between classical form and modern mood. It does not pursue avant-garde experiments, nor indulge in retro sentiments. Instead, in the most authentic way, it condenses a person's breath, the memory of a group of people, and the silhouette of an era into the clear moonlight of the garden. If readers walk quietly into this garden, they may be able to hear the echo of their own heartbeats among the whirling bamboo shadows.