Modernist poet Ya Hsien has died at the age of 92. He passed away on Saturday, October 12, in Vancouver, according to Taiwan News.
Born Wang Ching-lin in 1932 in Nanyang, Henan, China, he joined the military during a tumultuous period in his country’s history. He arrived in Taiwan with the retreating Kuomintang forces.
After settling in Taiwan, he pursued higher education and graduated from the Film and Drama Department of Fu Hsing Kang College. He later served in the Navy and earned a master’s degree in East Asian Studies from the University of Wisconsin.
In 1954, Ya Hsien co-founded the Epoch Poetry Society in Kaohsiung with fellow poets Luo Fu and Chang Mo. The society published the influential Epoch Poetry Quarterly, which sparked a new wave of poetry in the 1950s. The magazine was noted for its support of surrealism and its educational efforts aimed at the younger generation.
Ya Hsien dedicated nearly 40 years to editorial work, significantly encouraging submissions from Chinese-language writers worldwide. He also organized literary awards to support and recognize emerging talent.
After retiring, he moved to Vancouver, where he received the Taipei Culture Award in 2023 for his contributions to literature.
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