Wen-tao Cheng
Wen-tao Cheng (Cheng, Wen-tao), a distinguished Chinese poet and senior lector emeritus in East Asian Languages and Literatures at Yale, died on June 13 in New Haven. He was 91.
Also known by his pen name, Zheng Chou-yu (鄭愁予), he taught at Yale from 1973 to 2004 while continuing his life as a poet.
An article in the Taiwanese TVBS News notes that Zheng Chou-yu (as he always was called in publications) was considered “the most ‘Chinese’ of all modern poets,” whose poetry “masterfully combines classical Chinese imagery with European Modernism.”
His verses, TVBS News noted, “consistently explored profound themes of exile, nostalgia, and impermanence — reflecting both his personal journey away from his birthplace and the broader human experience of displacement that characterized much of 20th-century Chinese history.”
As testament to his growing appeal throughout all Chinese speaking communities, he had recently been awarded the Beijing Literature and Art Network Poet Award, given by a Chinese organization focused on literature and the arts.
His most famous poem, “Mistake,” is considered a classic of Taiwanese literature and has an imagery and lyricism reminiscent of the work of the Tang dynasty poet Li Po, whose works are known to many contemporary appreciators of poetry.
I traveled through the South Land
A longing face blooms and fades like the lotus flower with the seasons
The east wind is yet to arrive, the willow’s March catkins are waiting to fly
your heart is like the small, lonely, walled city
like an alley of blue-green cobbles facing the setting sun
the crickets are not crying, the windows are drawn in March
The hooves of my horse clatter — it’s a beautiful mistake
I’m not coming home, I’m only passing through
translated by Qiaomei Tang
Since his lyrical poems are subtle but accessible, they have been used by composers, song writers, and artists inspired by his poems, giving him the status of a media star with many modern fans. He also wrote thoughtful critical essays, skilled translations of Western literature, and musical compositions — demonstrating an artistic versatility that transcended conventional boundaries between literature and other creative forms.
In recent years, there has been an internationally broadcast documentary of his life, a biographical film featuring his work, and a national three-day music festival in Taiwan to celebrate his 80th birthday.
At Yale, where colleagues and students affectionately called him “Chou-yu,” Cheng taught many advanced Chinese students. Kang-I Chang, the Malcolm G. Chace ’56 professor of East Asian languages and literatures, emerita, co-taught a class in modern Chinese poetry with Cheng and developed a wonderful friendship “laced with humor and fun.”
He was recognized “as one of 30 poets in the official Taiwanese canon,” Chang noted, and most courses in modern literature taught in China would include his work in the curriculum. She remembers him as “not only a distinguished poet but a good human being, who possessed qualities of genuine kindness, generosity, and compassion.”
In recognition of his extraordinary literary gifts and reputation as a poet, Zheng was given the unprecedented title of writer-in-residence in Yale’s East Asian Languages and Literatures program. He was further granted the “emeritus” title when he retired, an unusual honor at that time.
Wen-tao Cheng was born in Jinan, in eastern China’s Shandong province, and grew up in Beijing. The son of a high-ranking military officer, he studied first at the arts department of Chung Hsing University. In 1967, he left Taiwan for a student residency in the United States.
In the U.S., he earned his M.F.A. at the University of Iowa’s Iowa Writers’ Workshop, which was founded by Paul Engle, the American poet (and one-time winner of the Yale Series of Younger Poets award), and Hualing Nieh, the Chinese novelist and poet. He then taught Asian Studies at Iowa before coming to Yale.
Mei-fong, his wife of 58 years, predeceased him in 2020. She worked for 30 years in acquisitions in Sterling Memorial Library and was herself a prominent figure in the local community. An elegant woman, who had a beautiful singing voice and was a renowned cook, she often accompanied her husband on his many trips abroad speaking and reading throughout Europe and Asia.
Wen-tao Cheng leaves three children, Mei-wa, Charles, and Iva; and three granddaughters, Claire Brouillard, Olivia Cheng, and Nora Cheng.
Visiting hours will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. July 2 at the North Haven Funeral Home at 36 Washington Ave. in North Haven. A funeral service will follow at 10 a.m. on July 3, also at the North Haven Funeral Home. Interment will take place in the Grove Street Cemetery. A memorial service at Yale will be announced later in the year.
