Back to Heaven: Selected Poems of Ch'ôn Sang Pyông, by Ch'ôn Sang Pyông, translated by Brother Anthony of Taizé and Young-moo Kim. Cornell East Asia Series, 77. Ithaca, N.Y.: East Asia Program, Cornell University. a) English language edition 1995, 142 pp. ISBN 1-885445-69-5, $22.00 cloth; ISBN 1-885445-77-6, $14.00 paper. b) Bilingual DapGae/CEAS Edition 1996, 207 pp. ISBN 1-885445-75-X, $14.00 paper.
Ch'ôn Sang Pyông's poetry in Back to Heaven
is essentially lyric verse describing his perceptions of the people
and the world around him, and is thus both deeply human and attentive
to nature. His poetry expresses his views on life as simply an
excursion with an eventual return home "Back to Heaven",
as captured in the title of this memorial collection of selected
poems. Ch'ôn's poetic style relies on clear, simple, almost
childlike repetitions, with few complex words, yet it nonetheless
conveys a profound message that echo his critical essays.
The poems selected and translated in this collection represent
the favorites of the Korean people. Most are from Ch'ôn's
earlier work written in the 1950s and 1960s and include some from
a "posthumous" publication. Ch'ôn Sang Pyông's
life (1930-1993), in fact, itself spans "deaths" and
"resurrections." Having made his literary debut in 1952
with "River Water" he went on to publish many volumes
of poetry and critical essays. A critical turning point in his
life occurred in 1967, however, when he was tortured by the KCIA.
Deeply traumatized, he began to drink heavily and disappeared
in 1971. Upon being presumed dead, a posthumous volume of his
work was published. After being found, Ch'ôn only could
remember his name and the fact that he was a poet. Gradually he
recovered his senses and struggled through hardships of poverty
and unemployment. In surviving the posthumous publication of his
poetry, he became popular in modern Korea despite aspects of his
work that contrast with Korea's esoteric traditional poetic style
and a life that embodies the antithesis of modern Korea's secular
preoccupations.
In his poetry Ch'ôn expresses desire for his soul to be
able to roam far and wide ("Soul", p.74). Unlike many,
Ch'ôn finds enjoyment in everyday simple things; even poverty
becomes something for him to enjoy. 'If a friend arrives from
far away/ and tells entertaining tales/...I feel gratified, invigorated/
and the heavens seem like a loving sister to me ("Joy,"
p.75). Such uncomplicated pleasures cause him to ask God 'how
could you let such a moment happen/ to a poor wretch like me?'
In his poem "Happiness," (p.105) he insists he is the
happiest man in the world because he has a pretty wife who earns
money, a university education, no children to worry about, fame
as a poet, and finally, because God who 'is the mightiest person/
in the whole wide world/ is looking after me.'
The popular appeal of Back to Heaven may reside in the
fact that his poetic style was readily understood by a mass audience
and that his philosophy, his poetic appreciation for simple natural
pleasures, and his desire for escape from the cares of this life
captured a communal longing for a return to simplicity, a return
that can be experienced vicariously through Ch'ôn's poetry.
In Back to Heaven, Ch'ôn ponders life, and chooses
to see it as a gift. Ch'ôn selects images from nature, such
as a bird, a river, rain, or a tree to convey his thoughts. For
example, in the poem "River Waters" (p.10), he states
reasons why the river runs to the ocean, which include negative
yet unresolved statements the reader may ponder: 'the reason I've
been weeping like a beast in sorrow/ up on the hill/ is not only
because/ the river flows toward the sea'. Although the style is
simple, the meaning is profound: life is sorrowful and people,
like beasts, must weep to make their presence known. These and
other poems convey Ch'ôn's acceptance of life's hardships
without remorse because he views life as an temporary journey
en route to heaven. ('I'll go back to heaven again/ At the end
of my outings to this beautiful world/ I'll go back and say. It
was beautiful....' "Back to Heaven", p.33)
The tone of Back to Heaven is hopeful and nostalgic. Although
Ch'ôn employs simple diction, the ideas expressed are not
necessarily simple, but rather render his poetry accessible to
more people as he relates both his struggles and his hopeful thoughts.
Ch'ôn writes of the simple joys and positive things that
ultimately occur because heaven watches over all; he does not
question this belief, however, but merely accepts heaven's providence
as a gift. He claimed that lyricism is the most important factor
in poetry and strongly opposed the anti-lyric situationalist and
modernist groups as 'bewitched by the magic of the limitatiion
of intelligence'.
Ch'ôn has been called a "Buddha without enlightenment"
(Kim Kyu-t'ae) and an "aesthete of purity and objectivity"
(Kim Uch'ang). Although one of the best-selling poets in Korean,
his poetry has certainly not been given priority for translation
because of its literary excellence. Given the extensive lists
of recognized Korean poets from which his name is absent (e.g.
Chungang Ilbo's list of 50 poets after 1945; Master
Poems from Modern Korean which lists 68; the University of
Hawaii, 18 poets; Munhak Segyesa, 25; etc.), it is somewhat
surprising that the profound meaning is easier to understand and
holds more universal and eastern philosophical appeal than other
Korean poets. Brother Anthony of Taizé and Young-moo Kim's
translation is very readable and I accord it the highest score
a translation can attain.