Farmer poets document daily lives

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Waking up early to read and write before work has been Yang Junfu's daily habit for decades.

For the 52-year-old farmer from Luojiang County, Sichuan Province, poetry and creative writing have become an integral part of his life.

“Writing is a way of fulfilling the vacuity of the mind,” Yang told CGTN. "There is hardly any cultural life in the countryside. For me, reading and writing poems can enrich my life."

He has been recording the past three decades of his life as both a farmer at home, and as a migrant worker in big cities. Afraid of being laughed at by others, he kept his hobby a secret for a long time. Even his own family considered him a “freak”.

“It really bothered me at the beginning,” said his wife Xie Xingrong. "He would start writing at any time, sometimes even late at night when I was sleeping. He would also suddenly stop his farm work and rush back home to write. But then I gradually became supportive of him when his works started being published in newspapers and magazines."

Some members of the Yunfeng Poets’ Society in Luojiang County, Sichuan Province discuss their works. /CGTN Photo

In fact, Yang Junfu, who has a high school diploma, is not the only writing enthusiast in his township. Other farmers have also taken up the habit of documenting their daily lives and the rural changes they’ve witnessed. They often gather at the local poets’ society to exchange views on their compositions and issue one or two publications every year.

The organization called Yunfeng Poets’ Society was founded in 1948, but activities were suspended one year later. The group was revived in 2007 and has a membership of around 50 people, including farmers, teachers and government workers.

One of the new members is chicken farmer Shen Ming. He is keen on expressing his passion for life through ancient-style Chinese poems.

“I really want to write something to record the details of my life while working in the fields or in the chicken farm. Sometimes, when I was inspired, I would throw chicken feed while jotting ideas on my cellphone. My chickens are often scared, but I think it’s a great pleasure to write poetry while working,” Shen said.

Chicken farmer and aspiring writer Shen Ming feeds his chickens. /CGTN Photo

The government of Luojiang county is supportive of the group’s endeavor. To promote local cultural development, the government invites poets across the country to a festival every two years.

It regularly rewards participants with cash prizes. The rewards are in line with the country’s cultural development strategy. Yang Junfu said he once received a prize of 14,000 yuan, which greatly encouraged him.

He said he would continue the writing habit as “it is just like smoking to cigarette addicts."

Yang Junfu, working on his farmland, writes mainly about his rural life and experiences as a migrant worker. /CGTN Photo

“A bed, lonely in the rented house; and me, lonely on this bed” – some sentences from Yang’s latest poem entitled "Lonely". But he said he would never feel lonely in his world of books and poems.

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