Poetic journey in China deepens cultural bonds among BRICS countries

A seminar for the First International Youth Poetry Festival's Special Session for BRICS Countries is held in Beijing, the capital of China, on July 24, 2024. (Xinhua/Ding Lin)

BEIJING, July 26 (Xinhua) -- While climbing the Great Wall in suburban Beijing, several Brazilian poets excitedly recited their poems in front of a stone tablet inscribed with a famous Chinese saying, "One who fails to reach the Great Wall is not a hero."

The Mutianyu section of the Great Wall on Tuesday welcomed more than 70 poets from BRICS countries as part of the First International Youth Poetry Festival's Special Session for BRICS Countries. The event kicked off last Friday in east China's Zhejiang Province and concluded on Wednesday in Beijing.

First held in 1980 by a poetry magazine published by the China Writers Association, the youth poetry festival is regarded as the most influential and longest-running literary gathering in China.

"With the event going global for the first time, it is hoped that we will explore the common emotional world of mankind and the diverse historical and cultural space through poetry," said Zhang Hongsen, vice chairman of the association.

The Great Wall, the first stop in their Beijing tour, left the foreign poets awestruck by its majesty and beauty. "The Wall brings stories in the form of joined stones. Walking around such an ancient structure made me feel like I was part of something bigger," said Rodrigo Vianna, a poet from Brazil. "Something that connects people and their feelings." 

The poetic journey made Edrees Bakhtiari aware of the historical similarities between China and his homeland, Iran. "When two countries have a long history, they inadvertently get close to each other," he said. "The poetry of both countries also let me hear the echoes from history."

"I think there is something in common that we all share because if we write about life, death, the eternal question of the human being, we have the same topics in general," said Ahmed Yamani from Egypt.

At a poetry-sharing session at the foot of the Mutianyu Great Wall, foreign poets and Chinese peers recited their poems in their native languages, exchanging their thoughts on life, the world and the future.

"It's the poets' duty to promote communication and appreciation among civilizations, and we will do our best," said Indian poet Prithviraj Taur, who has a 10-year-old daughter and has translated some Chinese fairy tales into Marathi, one of the classic languages of India.

Taur hopes to translate the poems by the BRICS poets participating in the event into Marathi and publish an anthology upon returning to India.

Although Seife Temam, hailing from Ethiopia, had never been to China before, he had always admired the works of Laozi, a reputed Chinese philosopher, like many young poets in Ethiopia.

Temam said he gained a deeper understanding of both classic and modern Chinese poets because of this experience. "So I plan to explore their works that are in English and do some translations into my language," Temam said, adding that he has founded a poetry-sharing platform, open to any language, in Ethiopia.

While touring the Forbidden City in Beijing, Temam said "Including the history of literature, everything is reserved so well here, which is inspiring. So I will also try to preserve my poetry and what we are doing in poetry for future generations. It will inspire me in that way."