Renowned Taiwanese poet Ya Hsien (瘂弦) passed away on Oct. 11 (Vancouver time) at the age of 92. Upon hearing the news, Culture Minister Li Yuan expressed his deepest condolences, reminiscing about their time working together at United Daily News (聯合報), and praised Ya Hsien’s contributions to promoting Taiwanese culture.
Born in 1932 in Henan, China, Ya Hsien moved to Taiwan in 1949. He later studied at the Film and Drama Department of Fu Hsing Kang College (復興崗學院) of National Defense University (國防大學) in Taiwan and at the University of Wisconsin’s Center for East Asian Studies in the United States.
In 1954, together with Chang Mo (張默) and Luo Fu (洛夫), Ya Hsien co-founded Epoch Poetry Quarterly (創世紀), helping to spearhead Taiwan’s modernist poetry movement. In 1975, he was appointed head of the United Daily News Supplement Department, where he served for two decades. He retired in 1998 and moved to Vancouver, Canada. In 2023, he was honored with the Taipei Culture Award.
As a modernist poet, Ya Hsien presented the beauty of musicality and imagery as well as humanitarianism in his poems. He had published “The Collected Poems of Ya Hsien (瘂弦詩集),” and his notable works include “Salt (鹽)” and “A Life That Sings (如歌的行板).”
The Ministry of Culture pays respect to the late literary giant. Ya Hsien’s contributions to the development of modernist poetry in Taiwan and efforts in nurturing young talents will be always remembered.