Ye Jiaying, a Centenarian, Passed Away; Chinese Poetry Society and Others Mourn and Pay Their Respects
On November 24, Mr. Ye Jiaying, an internationally renowned educator, poet, and leading scholar of Chinese classical literature, passed away in Tianjin at the age of 100.
According to the official obituary from Nankai University, Mr. Ye Jiaying was born in Beijing in 1924. He graduated from the Department of Chinese Literature at Fujen University in Beijing in 1945. Starting in 1954, he taught at National Taiwan University. In 1969, he moved to Vancouver, Canada, where he became a tenured professor at the University of British Columbia. In 1991, he was awarded the title of “Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada” and was invited as a guest professor by universities such as Harvard, Yale, and Columbia.
Mr. Ye Jiaying always kept his homeland in his heart. Since 1979, he returned to mainland China every year to lecture and was successively invited as a guest professor or honorary professor by Peking University, Nankai University, Beijing Normal University, Nanjing University, Sichuan University, and other universities and research institutions. In 1993, he founded the “Institute of Comparative Chinese Literature” (later renamed the “Institute of Chinese Poetry Education and Classical Culture”) at Nankai University and served as its director. In 2007, he obtained permanent residency in China and later settled at Nankai University.
After Mr. Ye Jiaying’s passing, the Chinese Poetry Society, the China Writers Association, and many others issued statements to mourn and pay their respects.
On November 24, the Chinese Poetry Society expressed its condolences to the funeral committee of Mr. Ye Jiaying, stating that his passing was a significant loss to the Chinese literary community, and his contributions to Chinese classical literature would forever be remembered in people’s hearts.
The obituary stated, “As a scholar, how can one serve the country? Never forgetting the souls of Li Bai, Du Fu, and the poets of the ‘Shi’ and ‘Sao’.” These were the lines Mr. Ye Jiaying used to express his ideal of serving the country as a scholar. “Talking about poetry during the day and discussing lyrics at night, my students and I share this obsession.” These were the lines Mr. Ye Jiaying used to record his love for teaching poetry and lyrics. Mr. Ye Jiaying donated his entire fortune of over 35 million yuan to the research and dissemination of excellent traditional Chinese culture. Mr. Ye Jiaying said that his entire life was “devoted to one thing,” which was the creation, research, and education of Chinese poetry. Mr. Ye Jiaying made significant contributions to the dissemination and promotion of Chinese classical literature.
Additionally, the Chinese Poetry Society published a collection of mourning poems on its official WeChat public platform, with Zhou Wenzhang, Lin Feng, Luo Hui, and others writing poems to mourn Mr. Ye Jiaying.
On November 25, the China Writers Association sent a condolence letter to Nankai University, expressing its mourning for the passing of Mr. Ye Jiaying and extending its sympathies to his family.
The condolence letter stated that Mr. Ye Jiaying had devoted his entire life to inheriting Chinese poetry culture and had achieved remarkable accomplishments in the creation, research, and education of classical poetry. His works, such as “A Collection of Commentaries on Du Fu’s Eight Autumn Poems,” “Wang Guowei and His Literary Criticism,” “Jialing’s Essays on Lyric Poetry,” and “Jialing’s Essays on Poetry,” were insightful and profound, exerting a wide influence in academic circles both domestically and internationally. With her enthusiastic promotion of classical poetry dissemination, her infectious poetry appreciation, and unique personal charm, she inspired countless people’s love for classical poetry and made significant contributions to the global dissemination of Chinese poetry culture. Her deep love and persistent effort towards Chinese poetry culture were admirable, making her a true “daughter of poetry.”
The condolence letter emphasized that Mr. Ye Jiaying was a patriotic scholar with a strong sense of cultural responsibility. With profound scholarship, a mastery of both Chinese and Western cultures, and meticulous education, he devoted his life to poetry teaching with the persistence of “doing only one thing in his life” and donated nearly all his personal fortune to establish an academic fund. He interpreted the true spirit of Chinese poetics with his life, used the power of poetry to nourish hearts, enlighten wisdom, and pass on culture, making outstanding contributions to promoting the inheritance of Chinese poetry and enhancing cultural self-confidence and self-improvement.
The China Writers Association expressed that the passing of Mr. Ye Jiaying was a tremendous loss to the academic, educational, and poetic communities. We will forever remember his scholarly spirit and noble character, and they will inspire us to move forward! Mr. Ye Jiaying will be remembered forever!
Furthermore, Zhonghua Book Company, which had long published Mr. Ye Jiaying’s works, also issued a statement to mourn his passing.
On November 25, the WeChat public account “Zhonghua Book Company 1912” issued a statement saying that Mr. Ye Jiaying had a deep friendship with Zhonghua Book Company. In the 1980s, he entrusted the company with the publication of “Jialing’s Essays on Poetry,” followed by the successive publication of over ten works, including “Ye Jiaying’s Interpretation of Han, Wei, and Six Dynasties Poetry,” “Ye Jiaying’s Interpretation of Ruan Ji’s Yonghuai Poems,” “Jialing’s Lectures on Fu,” and “The Calm Waves of the Sea.” Over the decades, these works have been widely disseminated, benefiting the academic community. This year (2024), Zhonghua Book Company will republish and revise the more than ten works of Mr. Ye Jiaying that were previously published by the company, compiling them into the “Jialing Book Series” (Centenary Collector’s Edition) to pay tribute to this “daughter of poetry” who was committed to disseminating Chinese poetry education.
Additionally, the WeChat public account “Zhonghua Book Company 1912” excerpted a chapter from Mr. Ye Jiaying’s autobiography “The Calm Waves of the Sea: My Poetry and Life” to commemorate and remember him.
Also on the 25th, the WeChat public account “CCTV Science & Education” announced that “Poetry and Me: Ye Jiaying’s Centenary Reading Club” would be rebroadcast on CCTV-10 from November 26 to November 29, 2024, at 13:59.
The announcement stated that in July 2024, on the occasion of Mr. Ye’s centenary birthday, CCTV’s “Reading” program specially launched the series “Poetry and Me: Ye Jiaying’s Centenary Reading Club.” Despite his illness, Mr. Ye specifically recorded precious footage for the “Reading” program, allowing us to revisit his voice and appearance and express our mourning.
