Global Times: Writer Jidi Majia bridges Yi cultural heritage with world through poetry

BEIJING, May 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Poetry should bear witness to both the beauty and the concerns of the current world and serve as a bridge for cross-cultural understanding and emotional connection, said Chinese poet Jidi Majia when attending the Daliang Mountain Poetry Festival held in Xichang, Southwest China's Sichuan Province in early May.

As one of the most representative ethnic minority poets in China, Jidi Majia played an active role during the festival in promoting the international dissemination of Yi cultural heritage through poetry and fostering exchanges and cooperation between Chinese and foreign poets. Dozens of poets, writers and artists from China, Germany, the US, Italy, Poland and Spain attended the event for poetry creation and discussions on various topics.

In an exclusive interview with the Global Times, Jidi Majia, whose works have been translated into nearly 40 languages and published in dozens of countries around the world, said poets should not just focus on "what lies before their eyes." 

"Poetry could become a stabilizing force in society and offer people a sense of healing," said the 63-year-old poet.

Nurtured by ethnic culture

"One of the most important reasons I became a poet is that, from a very young age, I was deeply immersed in the rich poetic traditions of my own people, the Yi ethnic group. I grew up in a linguistic environment saturated with poetry," said Jidi Majia.

The Yi group are not only an ancient ethnic group but also a profoundly poetic one. 

Much of Yi people's classical literature, sacred texts and cultural heritage, including works on philosophy, astronomy and history, has been preserved and passed down in poetic form. 

"Even today, it is through poetry that we express our thoughts and emotions, and it continues to serve as a medium for teaching children about the natural world, moral values and social conduct," he said.

From starting writing poetry in high school to winning the Third New Poetry Collection Award (later known as the Lu Xun Literature Prize) for the book Songs of First Love at the age of 26 in 1986, Jidi Majia's poetry carried forward the spiritual legacy of ancient Yi epics, philosophical verse, and ritual songs.

Jidi Majia's early poetry weaves elements of Yi mythology and epic traditions into his reflections on the lived world, serving as a reference point for self-identity. His poems are hymns to life and nature, as well as odes to freedom, dignity, and human solidarity, said Geng Zhanchun, a poet and professor from Henan University who has conducted sustained and in-depth research on Jidi Majia's poetry for many years, as quoted by The Paper.

From personal life to echoing global concerns

Compared to his early works, which were deeply influenced by Yi culture and oral poetic traditions, Jidi Majia's long poems during the past decade, such as The Split Planet and The Promised Land, demonstrate a critical engagement with modernity. These works reflect a broader human perspective, responding to the anxieties, fractures, and hopes of the contemporary world.

The visit to Medellin International Poetry Festival in Colombia in 1997 made the poet profoundly feel the power of poetry. At the time, the country was in a state of social unrest, yet during the festival, all conflicts seemed to pause. People gathered in the streets, communities, churches, libraries, and even in prisons to listen to poetry readings. 

The world is full of uncertainty and far from peaceful: regional conflicts, trade wars, religious clashes and more and more complicated geopolitics. Also, the development of bioengineering and AI is restructuring human society, said the poet. 

"Humanity as a whole is facing a new and profound test. Where are we headed? This is a question that every rational person who feels a sense of responsibility for the Earth must contemplate, especially the poets," said Jidi Majia.

A poet must use his own thought and conscience to judge what is right and what is wrong in this world, to discern the good and evil, the beauty and ugliness of human nature. "As builders of spirit and thought, we also bear an even greater responsibility: to use our work to engage with - and reveal - the true nature of the world," the poet pointed out.

For Jidi Majia, it is through the process of dialogue that people from different countries come to realize what they all care about and how much they share in common. Thus, he founded and organized a series of international poetry events in China to promote exchanges, including such as the Qinghai Lake International Poetry Festival, the Liangshan Qionghai International Poetry Week and Chengdu International Poetry Week.

"The reason I am committed to promoting international poetry festivals is that telling China's story well begins with bringing Chinese culture to the world - while also inviting foreign poets into China, enabling them to gain a profound understanding of the country," Jidi Majia said.

He said that most poets have rich inner lives, are highly sensitive, and possess unique perspectives. 

"Many of the poets I've encountered were deeply moved after visiting China, especially by the richness and diversity of its ethnic cultures, as well as the country's remarkable transformation since the reform and opening-up era," he said. 

Poets from nearly 40 countries participated in the first Qinghai Lake International Poetry Festival in 2007, and guests from 45 countries took part in the second edition. "With this tradition with another festival coming in July, I believe our connection will grow deeper, and the world will come to see a more authentic China." he said.

SOURCE Global Times