The Writers of “Jintian”
The Writers of “Jintian”
Born on August 2, 1949, in Beijing, Bei Dao is the nom de plume of Zhao Zhenkai, a distinguished figure in contemporary Chinese literature. He is renowned for founding the influential underground magazine “Jintian” (Today), significantly contributing to modern literary discourse in China and beyond. Serving as its editor-in-chief to date, Bei Dao has a diverse background, having worked as a construction worker, poet, editor, and freelance writer. Additionally, he has held teaching positions at various universities in Europe and America and is currently an Honorary Professor of Humanities at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. His works have been translated into more than thirty languages, reflecting his substantial global influence in literature.
| When | Where | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1978 | China (Beijing) | Co-founded the underground literary magazine Jintian (Today) in Beijing with Mang Ke. This was a significant event as it marked the emergence of a non-official literary voice in the People’s Republic of China since the 1950s. |
| 1989 | China (Beijing) | Following the Tiananmen Square protests, Bei Dao was exiled from China. This was a crucial turning point in his life and marked the beginning of his long period of exile. |
| Early 1990s | Scandinavia (Oslo) | Working together with fellow exiles to revive Jintian as an émigré journal. This period was marked by his struggle as an exile and his continued commitment to Chinese literature. |
| 1992-1993 | Netherlands (Leiden) | Served as a writer-in-residence at Leiden University in the Netherlands. This was part of his academic engagements during his exile. |
| 1994 | China (Beijing) | Attempted to return to China but was detained and deported upon arrival at Beijing Capital International Airport. This incident highlights the challenges he faced during his exile. |
| 1995 | USA (Davis) | Accepted a faculty position at the University of California at Davis. This year was also significant as he was reunited with his family, who were permitted to leave China. |
| 1998 | USA (New York) | Awarded the prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship in Poetry. |
| 1999 | USA (San Francisco) | Delivered a Presidential Lecture in the Humanities and Arts at Stanford University. The Presidential Lectures series invites eminent scholars, artists, and critics to engage in lectures, seminars, and discussions, fostering rich interactions with faculty, students, and the broader community. |
| 2000 | USA (Beloit) | Was appointed as the Lois and Willard Mackey Chair in Creative Writing at Beloit College. |
| 2001-2002 | USA (Stony Brook) | Taught at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Befriended the prominent physicist and Nobel Prize Laureate, Prof. Yang Zhenning. Through an introduction by their mutual friend Xiong Bingming (Yunnan-origin French artist and philosopher, and the son of the famous Chinese mathematician Xiong Qinglai), Prof. Yang Zhenning helped Bei Dao to arrange a trip back to Beijing to visit his ailing father, while he was in exile. Documented in Bei Dao’s essay “If the Sky Could Live Forever: In Memory of Xiong Bingming.” |
| 2001 | China (Beijing) | Visited China for the first time since his exile in 1989. |
| 2002 | Palestinian Territory (West Bank) | As part of an International Parliament of Writers delegation including Russell Banks, José Saramago, Wole Soyinka, and others, Bei Dao visited poet Mahmoud Darwish in the West Bank. The trip, sparking a diplomatic incident between Israel and Portugal due to José Saramago’s remarks on Israeli policies, gained further prominence with their meeting with Yasser Arafat. Bei Dao captured this experience in his essay “Midnight’s Gate,” later the title piece of his 2005 English essay collection, reflecting on the complexities of freedom and expression. |
| 2005 | USA (Tuscaloosa) | Served as a semester-long visiting writer at the University of Alabama. Collaborated with fellow Guggenheim Fellowship awardee Robin Behn, resulting in a significant collection of poems. |
| 2005-2007 | USA（Notre Dame) | Served as a writer-in-residence at the University of Notre Dame, undertook a self-propelled mission of “convincing Notre Dame’s student poets that there is more to writing than wordplay. One must also have lived.” |
| 2006 | Morocco (Casablanca) | Honored with the Argana International Poetry Award, established by the House of Poetry in Morocco in 2002. Named after the unique Argane tree, native to Morocco, the award symbolizes a gesture of poetic friendship and respect, celebrating international poets who embody originality and advocate for the values of diversity, freedom, and peace. |
| 2006 | Hong Kong | The Chinese government allowed Bei Dao to return to China permanently. However, he chose to move to Hong Kong, where he was offered a faculty position at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. |
| 2009 | USA (New York) | Became a naturalized American citizen. |
| 2011 | USA (Providence) | Awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters by Brown University for his “insightful, powerful, and haunting poems,” which have echoed the voice of freedom and expression both domestically and internationally. He was honored alongside luminaries such as astronaut David Scott, journalist Nicholas Kristof, and actor Jack Nicholson, with Brown’s then-President Prof. Ruth J. Simmons lauding his impactful poetic work and creation of an underground literary journal as instrumental in fostering change and advocating human rights. |
| 2021 | Japan (Tokyo) | Awarded the prestigious 2nd Yakamochi Medal, Bei Dao was celebrated for his poetic works that intricately “[weave] the melody over time as his flesh and blood with the progress of the other soul—the very entity he calls his love.” The Yakamochi Medal, honoring the memory of the Japanese poet Otomo no Yakamochi, is bestowed to recognize the exceptional contributions of the world’s eminent poets. |
