Wen Yiduo

Silent night, I cannot, will not, accept your bribe!
Who can be happy with a peace inside four walls?

Wen Yiduo (聞一多; 1899-1946) was a Chinese poet.

Quotes

• This eerie, silent night, this round of perfect peace,
  This song of gratitude that rises in my throat –
  And at once the song of thanks changes to a curse.
  Silent night, I cannot, will not, accept your bribe!
  Who can be happy with a peace inside four walls?
  My world is greater; it reaches far beyond.
  These walls cannot keep out the roar of battle.
  Can they still the furious beating of my heart?
  [...]
  Good Fortune, I cannot accept your bribe;
  My world cannot be locked inside these walls.
  Listen! Cannons! Roaring spirits of the dead!
  Silent night, how can you hope to still my pounding heart?
  • Silent Night (靜夜), 1948
    Translation of Herbert Batt and Sheldon Zitner, The Flowering of Modern Chinese Poetry (2016)

• The stronger the poet is, the more he revels in dancing in shackles, and the better he dances.
  • As quoted in The Flowering of Modern Chinese Poetry (2016) by Herbert Batt and Sheldon Zitner

Quotes about

• On 15 July 1946 he addressed a public meeting in memory of Li Gongpu, a Democratic League leader shot by the Guomindang secret police: "Reactionaries, you killed one man, but hundreds and thousands carry on ... We have the martyr's spirit!" Later that same day Wen himself was assassinated.
  • Herbert Batt and Sheldon Zitner, The Flowering of Modern Chinese Poetry (2016)

External links

• Encyclopedic article on Wen Yiduo on Wikipedia