Yin Lichuan and the Emergence of the New Generation Artists 尹麗川
Paloma Robles
Born after 1970, young artist Yin Lichuan belongs to what is known in China as the new generation artists.
Critic, poetess, and recently filmmaker, she has a reputation for being outspoken and provocative and for the theme of her work, which deals with the reality of contemporary urban China.
Young Poets and Social Reality
China's rapid economic development has no doubt improved the average living standards of many people, especially in big cities: higher salaries, better houses, access to consumer goods.
At the same time, this phenomenon has given way to different forms of entertainment and to a new type of urban culture: bars, music, alcohol, nightlife.
But just like in any other emerging country, economic development in China has also spurred consumerism, growing differences between the rich and the poor, and a general atmosphere of social discontent among young people.
This reality and its contradictions is what artist Yin Lichuan speaks about in her work. Poetess, art critic, film maker, and only thirty-four, Yin Lichuan can claim to be a true representative of China's new generation artists.
These artists are young, and their work is characteristic for dealing with the thematic of the changing dynamics of modern China.
The work of people like Yin Lichuan is also important as a social phenomenon because, apart from the subject matter, it reflects the mentality and concerns of young Chinese people living in big cities today.
Yin Lichuan was born in 1973. She studied French at Beijing University and Film at Paris Ecole Superieure Libre d'Etudes Cinematographiques.
Yin Lichuan is the author of a number of books on literary criticism and recently director of the film 'The Park' ('Gongyuan') which explores the issue of parent-children communication and the generation gap.
The Lower Body
Yin Lichuan first became well known as one of the representatives of a poetic movement known as the Lower Body.
Composed of a dozen of young artists born between 1970 and 1980, the Lower Body created much controversy in literary circles between 2000 and 2001.
Poems of The Lower Body
The poems written by the Lower Body are provocative and full of explicit sexual references. In one of them, called "Why Not Make It Feel Even Better" and written by Yin Lichuan, a woman is having sexual intercourse with a stranger and giving him directions in order to make sex 'feel even better'.
The language is crude, simple and detached. There is no love and no romanticism. It transmits a feeling of stark individualism where relationships are reduced to mechanical exchanges and where people only seek individual pleasure.
Other poems by the Lower Body talk about junkies, criminals, drunkards and nobodies. They want to focus attention on a new social panorama which has sharpened the differences between the rich and the poor, or between have and have-nots. Their poems also talk about young people, unemployment, idleness and the lack of communication between the young and the elderly.
But Yin Lichuan's power lies as much in the thing she says as in the way she expresses them. Her tone is dispassionate, detached, crude, cynical, yet also combined with occasional stings of melancholy and humor. Her verse, short, full of run-on lines, is powerful and with an astonishing sense of rhythm. For all this, she has gained recognition as a talented young artist.
Controversial Poetry
But not everybody agrees on what it means to be a good poet. Poetry played a very significant role in ancient Chinese culture and for many people, great poetry is still exclusively identified with great ancient poets like Li Bai or Du Fu.
'Real, concrete, tangible, exciting, wild, sexy, unimpeded' - these are the words members of the Lower Body have used to describe their poetry. This definition is in total contradiction with traditional poetry values such as harmony, metaphor, poetic sentiment as well as with strict metre structure and rhyme patterns.
In ancient China, the poet was an eminent figure and poetry had an elevated status associated with virtue and truth. This helps explain why it is hard for many people today to accept the radically new definition of poetry put forth by the Lower Body and why many still refuse to grant Yin Lichuan the label of 'great poetess'.
The idea of the Lower Body when it first appeared was to break with the rules and tradition of ancient Chinese poetry. Their movement was a call for freedom and transformation both in society and literary tradition. They wanted to develop a type of poetry more consistent with the reality of contemporary China.
Internet Poetry
Another feature of Yin Lichuan's poetry is that it has mainly been published in the web. Most of her work can be found in the Poetry Vagabond's website and on her personal blog. When asked about the advantages of web publishing, she does not think twice: 'immediacy'.
"The web allows readers to publish their opinions and to build a very close community between artist and readers," she said.
"It also allows the possibility for some people to build a sense of community outside major cities where there is not so much poetic culture."
But immediacy can also sometimes have its drawbacks. As she herself puts it, "although it's nice to know what people think, some readers can get into the habit of praising or damning whatever they see."
Yin Lichuan believes in the importance of the connection between artist and audience. The poet needs to be accessible, close to the people, a condition greatly facilitated by web publishing. The good thing about the web is that it makes it possible for people to 'talk' to the writer.
Yin Lichuan has expressed this specific concern not only with regard to her poetry. Her last film, The Park', explores the issue of generation gap and the problems of communication between young Chinese people and their parents.
"What's most important to me is the audience's reaction," she said. "Movies are made for the public; they are an emotional dialogue between the director and the audience, a means to express our shared humanity... I can't stand films that only express the directors own self involvement".
Yin Lichuan is an artist of the people. Her poetry and her films speak about the everyday concerns of Chinese people. In this sense, new generation poets like her are important not only for the quality of their art, but also as a social phenomenon. Their work helps readers better understand China's social reality and the contradictions of a society in constant transformation.