About the Author

Hai Zi (1964-1989) is considered one of the most important Chinese poets of the twentieth century. Born to a peasant family in rural Anhui province, his early life took place during the chaos and economic disarray of the Cultural Revolution. At age fifteen he was accepted at China's most prestigious institution, Peking University, and four years later he became a professor at China University of Political Science and Law. At the age of twenty-five, he ended his own life by throwing himself in front of a train near Shanhaiguan, outside of Beijing.