Forging the Soul of Poetry Amid the Everyday:
Tan Xiang’s Poetic Interrogation of Reality and Spiritual Depth
By Chen Guangping
Poetry, as both a mirror of reality and a cry of the soul, increasingly requires the courage to root itself in life and the sharpness to penetrate appearances in the contemporary era. The works of Mr. Tan Xiang, a distinguished member of the World Federation of Literary and Art Circles, exemplify such poetry. With a plain yet precise style, he fuses the texture of everyday life with grand philosophical themes, transforming poetry into a spiritual instrument capable of piercing the filters of reality. Through the interplay of worldly warmth and profound reflection, his poems illuminate the living conditions and inner complexities of modern humanity.
I. Deconstructing Reality: Tearing Away the Veil of Absurdity in Everyday Life
One of the most distinctive features of Tan Xiang’s poetry is its direct engagement with and deconstruction of reality.
In Lies and Truth, he transcends the simplistic binary opposition between black and white. He juxtaposes the culinary delights of Hunan, Sichuan, Guangdong, and Shandong—celebrated in “A Bite of China”—with the hidden social concern of “gutter oil,” creating a powerful sensory and intellectual contrast. When “swindlers and experts compete on the same stage, difficult to distinguish from one another,” and when “in the age of genetic modification, truth and lies no longer give birth to monsters,” the poem tears away the absurd mask beneath civilization’s polished surface.
Truth and falsehood are no longer clearly separated categories. Instead, they permeate everyday life—from food consumption to information dissemination—forming a complex reality that every contemporary individual must confront and digest.
Without relying on overt slogans or aggressive criticism, Tan Xiang captures the roughness and contradictions of reality through precise observations of daily life. His poetry resembles a blunt knife: lacking visible sharpness, yet carrying the warmth and weight of lived experience, slowly and profoundly cutting through superficial appearances.
II. Metaphors of the Human Heart: Exploring the Essence of Survival Through Wilderness Imagery
If Lies and Truth questions the order of reality, The Wilderness explores the darker corners of the human heart and the essence of existence.
The “wilderness” in Tan Xiang’s poetry is far more than a natural landscape; it serves as a metaphor for the margins of civilization and spiritual desolation. “Foxtail grass sways generation after generation over unclaimed graves”—what sways is not peaceful time, but the silent breath of the forgotten. “A line of termites opens a passage between the worlds of the living and the dead, while snakes and rats seize the opportunity to build their nests.” Behind these eerie images lies the most primitive logic of survival emerging after the collapse of order.
By welding desolation and strangeness together, Tan transforms the wilderness into a projection of humanity’s hidden corners. Desires, indifference, and barrenness—polished over by civilization and concealed by social order—are laid bare in this symbolic landscape.
His poetry thus transcends mere description of scenery and reaches a profound contemplation of human nature and social anxieties, endowing his work with both aesthetic value and critical insight.
III. Dialectical Tension: The Resilience of Life Between War and Peace
In War and Peace, Tan Xiang employs concise language to portray the dialectical relationship between violence and hope, conflict and tranquility.
“The initiator of war always has a reason”—a simple statement that encapsulates both the absurdity and inevitability of conflict throughout history and contemporary reality. It is a harsh truth that resists refutation. Yet “peace is the finest sightline” illuminates a ray of rational hope against the backdrop of confrontation.
Particularly moving is the line: “Plant dreams upon bullets, and heaven becomes the color of blood.”
This verse masterfully intertwines despair and hope, violence and beauty. Even amid the devastation of war, humanity’s yearning for a better future remains unextinguished. Even if heaven is stained with blood, the pursuit of dreams continues.
Rather than merely glorifying peace or condemning war, Tan Xiang reveals their tension and complexity, allowing readers to feel both the preciousness of peace and the resilience of life itself. His poetry possesses both emotional power and human warmth.
IV. Bridging Past and Present: Civilizational Resonance Through the Great Wall
Tan Xiang’s two poems, Reflections on Visiting the Great Wall, demonstrate his ability to fold ancient and modern times into a single poetic space.
“Qin Shi Huang commanded the construction of the Great Wall, repelling millions of Xiongnu warriors to the north.”
These opening lines evoke the grandeur of imperial ambition and the majesty of the Great Wall, embodying the weight and magnificence of history. In the sequel, however, “Beacon fires stretch for thousands of miles, while echoes of mountains and rivers roar in the distance,” breathing life into what might otherwise remain a static historical monument.
The lingering smoke becomes the residual warmth of millennia; the roaring landscape carries the sighs of soldiers, the memory of a nation, and the echoes of contemporary humanity.
In Tan Xiang’s hands, the Great Wall ceases to be a mere historical relic. Instead, it becomes a “receiver” connecting past and present, allowing historical gravity and contemporary reflection to resonate within the poem.
This cross-temporal vision broadens both the artistic scope and intellectual depth of his poetry, harmonizing personal emotion with collective memory, historical perspective with present-day concerns.
V. Rooted Writing: The Vitality of Everyday Life in Simple Language
Throughout Tan Xiang’s body of work, his language remains consistently plain yet precise.
He never hides behind sophisticated vocabulary or relies on elaborate rhetorical ornamentation. Instead, through the flavors of “Hunan, Sichuan, Guangdong, and Shandong,” and the earthy imagery of “snakes and rats building nests,” he brings grand themes—truth and falsehood, war and peace, history and reality—into the sensory experiences of ordinary people.
Reading his poetry is like biting into a piece of candy coated with sand and soil. The first taste may be bitterness and hardship; yet upon deeper reflection, one discovers strength in the bones and warmth within the soul.
This rootedness frees his poetry from abstract sentimentality and empty philosophizing. It anchors itself firmly in everyday life, becoming poetry that speaks for “us”—for the confusion, perseverance, suffering, and hope shared by ordinary people.
Conclusion: A Contemporary Realist Poetic Spirit Rooted in Humanity
Tan Xiang’s poetry stands as a model of contemporary realist verse.
Drawing inspiration from life and writing with the soul as his pen, he discovers profundity in ordinary details and reveals warmth within grand themes. His poetry serves as a bridge connecting the individual and the age, reality and idealism.
His work reminds us that truly powerful poetry does not depend upon ornate language or obscure imagery. It requires only a firm grounding in human experience and an unwavering commitment to truth.
From the warmth of everyday life, Tan Xiang forges a poetic spirit capable of questioning reality while reaching profound spiritual depths—a poetry through which readers may see themselves, their时代, and the eternal.
About the Poet
Tan Xiang, originally from Guangdong, China, now resides in San Diego, California, USA, and serves as Vice President of the U.S.-China Times.
His works, including He Xin Lang: To Mi Yu and Man Jiang Hong: Eternal Thoughts of Mother, received Excellence Awards in the National Short Literature Competition of China. His essay Information Is Also a Productive Force won First Prize at the Symposium on Literary Journalism and the Rejuvenation of the Nation Through Science and Education.
Editor: Tom
