Ouyang Jianghe belongs to the “third generation” of twentieth-century Chinese

literature and the so-called “five masters from Sichuan”—poets who consciously

distance themselves from the “Misty” (obscure) poets. His writing advocates

an intellectual model that is based on reflection and the expression of mature

recognition rather than inspiration, sudden impulse, or spontaneous illumination,

and is concerned with everyday themes, the insignificant, and the private.

Critics consider Ouyang Jianghe’s poetry some of the most challenging avant-garde

verse written in China over the past few decades. His poems, which have the intricate,

sculpted quality of fugues, are concerned with dissecting the layers of meaning that

underlie everyday objects and notions like “doubled shadows.” He is a prominent art critic and chief editor of the literary magazine Jintian; he lives in Beijing.

Austin Woerner graduated from Yale University with a degree in East Asian studies. In September 2009 he took part in a joint residency with Ouyang Jianghe at the Vermont Studio Center, where they were the first writer-translator pair in the literature in translation program. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.