Ukrainian Poet: Here is Beauty that Conquers

Editor’s Note: We are honored to receive a copy of a book of poetry by Ludmila Skirda， a famous Ukrainian writer and poet and spouse of current Ukraine Ambassador to China Mr Yuriy Kostenko “China’s Breath” is in a bilingual format of Chinese and Russian Professor Luo Hanchao， a poet， critic and former dean of the Chinese Department of Zhejiang University， wrote a review as follows

I consider Ludmila Skirda a modern heiress of Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko (1814-1861)， a great Ukrainian poet She came to China with her husband when he took the post of ambassadorship of Ukraine to China in August， 2009 She has traveled extensively across China She is fully acquainted with streets and lanes of the capital city She has visited Shanghai and Hangzhou many times Other cities she has visited in-clude Sanya， a garden city in scenic Hainan Island， Chengde in Hebei Province and Huai’an in Jiangsu Province What she has experienced inspired the Ukrainian poetess That is how her poetry collection eventually came to my desk

I am under the impression that foreign poets rarely write poems on China She is an exception She has poeticized enthusi-astically and abundantly about China Her poems explore China’s landscapes， social issues， lifestyles， and culture Many of her poems about China are inspired by scenic and historical sites she visited In a poem， she sings of Sanya and its Butterfly Valley She believes this is an exemplary life for the whole humanity: warm， optimistic and peaceful In a poem about her meditation on the Great Wall of China， she sings of the greatness， intellect and spirit of the Chinese nation The Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal opened her eyes to the great-ness of Chinese people’s existence In a poem about the house in Shanghai where the first national congress of the Commu-nist Party of China convened in 1921， she points out that the future of a new China was determined there

“Hangzhou in Winter Reminds Me of Eternity”， a long poem about Hangzhou in the collection， warrants special mention-ing Walking along an avenue flanked by pine forests toward Lingyin Temple， she feels a world of splendor and peace and prays for an eternal life While viewing the Laughing Buddha statue by the Cold Stream Pavilion， she experiences the interaction be-tween nature and humanity While soaking up the beauty of the lake in a rainy day， she feels as if she sees her beloved ones A panoramic view of the Qiantang River from the Wu Hill inspires her to think about Chi-na’s geographic and historical wonders The long poem not only explores the scenic beauty of the West Lake but also celebrates the spiritual dimensions of the paradise city

The Ukrainian poet is strongly interested in the Chinese lifestyle Her interest is in-spired partly by her curiosity and partly by her identification with China She sings of traditional Chinese festivals and holidays such as the Moon Festival， the eve of the Spring Festival， and the Lantern Festival

The most impressive is Ludmila Skirda’s sincere admiration of the traditional Chi-nese culture She shows her feminine sen-sitivity when discussing the Chinese Qipao She points out that the core of Chi-nese cloth-ing culture is an ap-preciation of beauty In “China Red”， she discovers the Chi-nese pref-erence to red， which is a color of happiness that can be seen everywhere in China The color also symbolizes success and wealth， love and friendship， the Chinese people’s expecta-tion toward a beautiful future In another poem， she writes about her understanding of the value of Confucian ideology

The book gives me a general impression that the Ukrainian poet’s lyrical and color-ful treatment of China is firmly based on her understanding of the Chinese culture In a conversation with Gao Mang， the experi-enced Chinese translator of the collection， she concludes that beauty worshipping is the most important component of the China’s national personality I assume that the poet must believe China is a nation that creates beauty

I agree with the author about the beauty of China: this is beauty of harmony and momentum □