Chinese writers visits Confucius Institute, NTU

Cross-Borders Literature Exchange – Chinese Writers Visit Confucius Institute, NTU

3 Chinese writers made an official visit to Confucius Institute, NTU on the morning of 27th December 2008 as arranged by the Singapore Art Council. They arrived promptly at 10.30 am to participating in a literature dialogue organised by the Singapore Association of Writers. Mr Gao Hong Bo led the group and was accompanied by Mr Li Pei Fu, Mr Kou Zong E and Mr Hu Wei, a translator. They made a stopover in Singapore on their return trip back from Israel, where they had some programmes planned.  

Attendees for literature dialogue include Mr Chia Hwee Pheng, Chairman of the Singapore Association of Writers, Mdm Liew Kwee Lan and Mr Tan Suan Chyang, Vice-Chairmen of the Singapore Association of Writers, other members of the managing committee and several local writers. As the host, Mr Chia introduced each of the attendees before inviting the guests to make a short speech.

Mr Gao is a famed writer of children’s literature, short stories and poetry.  An esteemed scholar in literary circles both locally and overseas, Mr Gao is also the Vice Chairperson of the Chinese Writers Association. Having experienced little language barrier, he commented that Singapore felt just like home. He went on to praise a famous work of Singapore literature, “Shen You Ji” for being refreshing, personal and yet filled with excellent prose, having read it after it was presented to him as a gift. He also spoke of his own literature works and the expanding China market for children’s literature.

Mr Li is the Vice Chairperson of the Writers Association of Henan Province and had previously received several local writers at a literature conference in Zhengzhou. As this is his first time in Singapore, he gave an introductory speech which highlighted the beauty of Zhengzhou’s naturally scenic landscape and rich archaeological legacy. Mr Tan who had visited Zhengzhou on previous occasions remarked that literature events are not only thriving in Zhengzhou, but also enjoy unprecedented media coverage, with the much celebrated literature event “Golden Sparrow” telecasted live on local television channels.

Mr Kou has been the editor for the China “Poetry Publication” for more than 20 years and a member of the Chinese Writers Association. As a poet and distinguished artist, he has also organised numerous art exhibitions and participating in cross-cultural and artistic events both within China and aboard. His Chinese ink paintings are also highly sought by art collectors. In his own words, Mr Kou highly values poetry as an art form. To him, writing a poem is alike to creating a beautiful painting and he enjoys blending both seamlessly in his artworks. In recent years, he has demonstrated much originality in practising his craft by adding milk into ink used for painting, thus adding a new dimension to his artworks.

While, Mr Quek Yong Siu went on to elaborated on the different methods used to blend poetry with photography, music etc. the host, Mr Chia followed with a brief introduction of the local literary scene and the Nanyang Chinese literature Award. He further emphasised that the multi-cultural heritage of Singapore is the main reason behind Southeast Asia’s colourful literature and its mass appeal.

This inspiring then edifying literature discussion ended with much fanfare at noon.