Zha Haisheng, better known by his pen name Hai Zi, was a famous poet in China. CFP
English poet Gerard Manley Hopkins once wrote, “Nothing is so beautiful as spring.” If anything comes close, it’s probably poetry.
英国诗人杰拉尔德·曼利·霍普金斯曾写道：“任什么也没有春天这样美丽。”如果有什么能与之媲美，或许便是诗歌。
Among all the poems about spring, Facing the Ocean, Spring Warms Flowers Open written by Chinese poet Zha Haisheng (1964-1989), better known by his pen name Hai Zi, is one of the best to describe the spirit of the season. Even today, it is recited by young people, though the poet passed away three decades ago, at age 25.
在所有关于春天的诗歌中，中国诗人查海生（其笔名“海子”更为世人所熟知）所写的《面朝大海，春暖花开》是描摹出春天精髓的一大佳作。尽管这位诗人早已在30年前去世，享年25岁，但直至今日，这首诗歌依然被年轻人们吟诵。
He describes nature and life with simple and direct language that translates into English with similar clarity.
他以简洁直白的语言描绘了自然与生命，其英文译文也同样清晰明了。
For example, in the lines “starting from tomorrow, become a content person / feed the horses, split wood, roam the world,” Zha gets straight to the point.
比如，海子在诗句“从明天起，做一个幸福的人/喂马、劈柴，周游世界”中直抒其胸臆。
While his language is clear, Zha’s poetry often uses symbolic images, like the sea or wheat fields, to convey a deeper meaning.
尽管海子的语言十分简洁，但他也常在诗歌中使用海、麦田等意象，来表达更深层次的含义。
In his eyes, poetry is an individual creation and it is a mirror of oneself. Zha craved nature, so his poems seldom deal with cities. Zha said the two elements of nature and life in his poems were influenced by The Book of Songs and Li Sao.
在他看来，作为一种个人创造，诗歌是一面反映自我的镜子。海子热爱大自然，因此他的诗歌中也很少涉及城市。他表示，自己会在诗作中描绘自然与生命这两大元素，是受到了《诗经》与《离骚》的影响。
Besides the Chinese classics, Zha also sought inspiration from Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh, whose works showed great passion.
除了中国经典名著之外，海子还从荷兰画家梵高身上获得了灵感，其作品也饱含激情。
Zha had an extraordinary natural sensitivity and a special insight into his surroundings. This perception was key to his success in literature. “The supersensitivity forced him to venture into an ideal world, where poetry can soothe the wounds in his heart posed by the secular world,” wrote Chinese writer Liu Yuan.
海子与生俱来拥有非凡的悟性，对周遭有着独特的洞察力。这种感知力是其文学作品大获成功的关键。“这种非凡的悟性令他进入了一个理想世界，在那里，诗歌能够抚平世俗世界对其内心所造成的伤害，”中国作家刘源写道。
But why did Zha have such sensitivity? His life experiences may give a clue. Born and raised in a poor farming family in Anhui province, Zha passed the national college entrance exam and entered famous Peking University at 15. From his childhood, he was regarded as an excellent student, who was also burdened with great expectations from his family. Great pressure and tough living conditions taught him harsh realities of the world, but he eventually turned to poetry, which helped relieve his stress.
但海子为何能拥有这般悟性呢？或许他的人生经历能提供一些线索。海子出生成长在安徽的一个贫困家庭中，15岁时，他通过高考进入名校北京大学就读。从童年起，他便被视为优等生，全家人也对其寄予厚望。巨大的压力和艰苦的生活环境令他明白了现实世界的残酷，他最终投入了诗歌创作，帮助自己排解压力。
“Zha was definitely a giant poet,” wrote Liu Jun, known by the pen name Xi Chuan. “His own life was a piece of poetry.”
“海子无疑是位大诗人，”刘军（笔名西川）写道。“他的一生就是一部诗歌。”
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