A SHENZHEN man, who exhibited a self-composed prose poem at this year’s China (Shenzhen) International Cultural Industry Fair, has written a prose poem for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
The Daily Sunshine said yesterday that Jia Yubao, who works at the Shenzhen branch of the Bank of China plans to take 2,008 Shenzhen students with him to Beijing to read out the Olympic prose poem during the games.
The prose poem, around 1,000-word long, describes the Chinese cultural elements in the global event. It also recounts the history of the Olympic Games as well as the history of sports in China.
It took Jia two years to compose the prose poem dedicated to the 2008 Olympics, the report said, adding that it has undergone an evaluation by a group of experts last week, who thought highly of it.
Jia has written six prose poems so far. He spent 500,000 yuan (US$65,000) on renting five booths at the convention and exhibition center to display his 10-meter long, 780-character Han-style prose poem about Shenzhen, at the fair in May.
Jia, in his late 30s, told the newspaper that he writes after work every day. “The writing itself was tiring, I have to admit, as the form of prose is very demanding in terms of rhythm and wording, but I like doing it and regard it as my hobby,” the newspaper quoted Jia as saying.
The Shenzhen prose poem, roughly divided into three parts, records the history of Shenzhen. The first two verses are devoted to the city’s little-known past before it became one of China’s first five special economic zones for market-oriented economic reform. The second part describes the economic miracle Shenzhen has achieved since 1980 when Deng Xiaoping’s reform and opening-up strategy was implemented, while the last part contains his thoughts about the city’s future.
The Shenzhen prose poem is the third in a series of prose poems on South China that Jia has composed since July 2004. The series also includes a prose poem on Hainan Province and one on Guangzhou. The prose poem on Hainan is now housed at the Boao Forum for Asia on the island province. (Wei Jie)