The Shanghai Poetry Group Between Italo Calvino and Li He: Exploring the Aesthetics of Chen Dongdong's Poetry

Abstract

As a representative poet of contemporary “intellectual writing,” Chen Dongdong played a significant role in the “third generation” poetry movement as a member of the “Shanghai Poetry Group.” He not only participated in and even led a chorus of diverse voices, emerging as a prominent figure in Shanghai’s literary scene, but also, after departing from the institutional framework, embarked on a sustained journey of independent and sophisticated textual creation, theoretical exploration, and critical observation of literary trends, establishing himself as a profound thinker among his peers. His poetic language incorporates the “ornate” stylistic resources of European writers such as Italo Calvino, giving rise to a distinctive “crystal” poetics. The connotation of his writing internally absorbs the literary qualities of the “southern tradition” in classical China, exemplified by poets like Li He and Wen Tingyun, while externally integrating and innovating with modern urban elements and surrealist philosophical thought, ultimately shaping a “Baroque” aesthetic temperament. An in-depth study of Chen Dongdong promises to offer a refined insight into the ideological ecology of contemporary Chinese new poetry.

作为当代“知识分子写作”的代表诗人，陈东东既在“第三代”诗歌运动中充当“海上诗群”的重要角色，参与乃至主导众声合奏，俨然沪上文坛的明星；也在离开体制之后展开长期的独立化、精密化的文本创作、理论勘探和文艺思潮的观测，成为同代人中沉潜深邃的思想者。其诗歌语言凝合卡尔维诺等欧陆学人的“矫饰”资源，进而制造独特的“晶体”诗学，书写意涵向内融合李贺、温庭筠等古典中国的“南方传统”文质，向外与现代都市元素和“超现实主义”哲思进行整饬与革新，最终形成“巴洛克”的美学气质。针对陈东东展开研究，或将对汉语新诗的思想生态贡献一部精致的启示录。