Wai-lim Yip
Encyclopedia
Wai-lim Yip, also known as Yeh Wei-lien (Wade-Giles
) and Ye Weilian (pinyin
) (born June 20, 1937), is a Chinese poet, translator, critic, editor, and professor of Chinese and comparative literature.
Yip was born in Guangdong
province, China, and at the age of twelve moved to Hong Kong
, where he started writing poetry and was active on the poetry scene. He graduated from National Taiwan University
(BA, 1959) and went on to National Taiwan Normal University
(MA, 1961), where he did a thesis on T.S. Eliot and translated "The Waste Land
." In 1963 he went to the United States
to attend the Iowa Writers' Workshop
at the University of Iowa
, whose director, Paul Engle
, went to Taipei
to negotiate permission for Yip's wife Tzu-mei and their daughter to leave Taiwan; he received an MFA in 1964. He then did graduate work at Princeton University
, receiving a PhD in comparative literature
in 1967. In the same year he joined the faculty of University of California, San Diego
, with which he has been affiliated ever since. In 1970 he returned to National Taiwan University as a visiting professor of comparative literature. In 1980 he joined the Department of English at the Chinese University of Hong Kong
as a visiting professor. Since then, he has visited mainland China many times, teaching comparative literature at Peking University
and Tsinghua University
.
Yip's poetic theory, relating modernist poetry to Taoist aesthetics, has been very influential in Taiwan. In recent years he has been the object of considerable attention in China, with exhibitions of his archives and conferences devoted to his poetry, as well as publication of his Complete Works in nine volumes.
Wade-Giles
Wade–Giles , sometimes abbreviated Wade, is a romanization system for the Mandarin Chinese language. It developed from a system produced by Thomas Wade during the mid-19th century , and was given completed form with Herbert Giles' Chinese–English dictionary of 1892.Wade–Giles was the most...
) and Ye Weilian (pinyin
Pinyin
Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...
) (born June 20, 1937), is a Chinese poet, translator, critic, editor, and professor of Chinese and comparative literature.
Yip was born in Guangdong
Guangdong
Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...
province, China, and at the age of twelve moved to Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, where he started writing poetry and was active on the poetry scene. He graduated from National Taiwan University
National Taiwan University
National Taiwan University is a national co-educational university located in Taipei, Republic of China . In Taiwan, it is colloquially known as "Táidà" . Its main campus is set upon 1,086,167 square meters in Taipei's Da'an District. In addition, the university has 6 other campuses in Taiwan,...
(BA, 1959) and went on to National Taiwan Normal University
National Taiwan Normal University
National Taiwan Normal University is an institution of higher learning operating on three campuses in Taipei, Taiwan . NTNU is widely recognized as one of Taiwan's elite institutions of higher education. The university enrolls approximately 11,000 students each year. The ratio of undergraduate to...
(MA, 1961), where he did a thesis on T.S. Eliot and translated "The Waste Land
The Waste Land
The Waste Land[A] is a 434-line[B] modernist poem by T. S. Eliot published in 1922. It has been called "one of the most important poems of the 20th century." Despite the poem's obscurity—its shifts between satire and prophecy, its abrupt and unannounced changes of speaker, location and time, its...
." In 1963 he went to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to attend the Iowa Writers' Workshop
Iowa Writers' Workshop
The Program in Creative Writing, more commonly known as the Iowa Writers' Workshop, at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa, is a highly regarded graduate-level creative writing program in the United States...
at the University of Iowa
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
, whose director, Paul Engle
Paul Engle
Paul Engle , noted American poet, editor, teacher, literary critic, novelist, and playwright. He is perhaps best remembered as the long-time director of the Iowa Writers' Workshop and as founder of the International Writing Program , both at the University of Iowa.-Life:Engle is often mistakenly...
, went to Taipei
Taipei
Taipei City is the capital of the Republic of China and the central city of the largest metropolitan area of Taiwan. Situated at the northern tip of the island, Taipei is located on the Tamsui River, and is about 25 km southwest of Keelung, its port on the Pacific Ocean...
to negotiate permission for Yip's wife Tzu-mei and their daughter to leave Taiwan; he received an MFA in 1964. He then did graduate work at Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, receiving a PhD in comparative literature
Comparative literature
Comparative literature is an academic field dealing with the literature of two or more different linguistic, cultural or national groups...
in 1967. In the same year he joined the faculty of University of California, San Diego
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego, commonly known as UCSD or UC San Diego, is a public research university located in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, California, United States...
, with which he has been affiliated ever since. In 1970 he returned to National Taiwan University as a visiting professor of comparative literature. In 1980 he joined the Department of English at the Chinese University of Hong Kong
Chinese University of Hong Kong
The Chinese University of Hong Kong is a research-led university in Hong Kong.CUHK is the only tertiary education institution in Hong Kong with Nobel Prize winners on its faculty, including Chen Ning Yang, James Mirrlees, Robert Alexander Mundell and Charles K. Kao...
as a visiting professor. Since then, he has visited mainland China many times, teaching comparative literature at Peking University
Peking University
Peking University , colloquially known in Chinese as Beida , is a major research university located in Beijing, China, and a member of the C9 League. It is the first established modern national university of China. It was founded as Imperial University of Peking in 1898 as a replacement of the...
and Tsinghua University
Tsinghua University
Tsinghua University , colloquially known in Chinese as Qinghua, is a university in Beijing, China. The school is one of the nine universities of the C9 League. It was established in 1911 under the name "Tsinghua Xuetang" or "Tsinghua College" and was renamed the "Tsinghua School" one year later...
.
Yip's poetic theory, relating modernist poetry to Taoist aesthetics, has been very influential in Taiwan. In recent years he has been the object of considerable attention in China, with exhibitions of his archives and conferences devoted to his poetry, as well as publication of his Complete Works in nine volumes.
Works
- Ezra Pound's Cathay, Princeton University Press, 1969.
- Modern Chinese Poetry: Twenty Poets from the Republic of China, 1955-65, University of Iowa Press, 1970.
- Chinese Poetry: Major Modes and Genres, U. C. Press/Duke University Press, 1976; 2nd ed. Duke University Press, 1997.
- Reading the Modern and the Postmodern: Meditations on Living Spaces and Cultural Spaces, Taipei: Tatung, 1992.
- Diffusion of Distances: Dialogues Between Chinese and Western Poetics, University of California Press, 1993. (UC Press E-Books)
- Between Landscapes, Santa Fe: Pennywhistle Press, 1994 [poems in English].
- Between/Entre, New Native Press, 2008 [trilingual collection of Yip's poetry].