In partnership with Paper Republic, Manchester City of Literature is excited to publish poetry in translation from four fantastic Chinese poets.

Paper Republic is a website dedicated to contemporary Chinese literature in translation. They host a blog, events listings and a database of authors, translators and publications. Click here to find out more.

Each poem will be published in both Chinese and English. This project marks the continuation of an ongoing cultural exchange and partnership between Manchester and Nanjing Cities of Literature.

We’re publishing the final poem in the series to coincide with International Mother Language Day on 21st February. IMLD is an annual celebration of linguistic and cultural diversity. A range of events are taking place to mark the occasion in community and cultural centres across Manchester. Click here to out more about the 2026 International Mother Language Day programme.

Today’s poem is ‘Light and its shoes’ by Lei Mo 雷默 (M).

 

Light and its shoes by Lei Mo 雷默 (M)
translated by Jiang Chenxin

Light and its shoes appear
like the flash of a tiger in the thickets
there’s nothing there
except an orb spider asleep in its own net
and two red goji berries on the tip of a twig
This can’t be the only time I’ve caught a glimpse
not of a mere shadow, of light itself
as if Buddha were not a sculpture, as if Zen were not bamboo and running water
on Peach Blossom Island last year, on Jade Dragon Snow Mountain the year before
and now here in the desolate Mufu Mountains
Is it a centipede
slipping its shoes off on the windowsill

 

光之履

光之履在幽暗的林中显现
好像一只猛虎刚刚出没过
但什么也没有
只有一只花蜘蛛，睡在自己的网里
只有两只红红的枸杞果，悬在细枝上

我确信不止一次见过它的踪迹
不是通常的影子，而是它本身
犹如佛不是塑像，禅不是花木和流水
前年在玉龙雪山，去年在桃花坞
此刻，寂静的幕府山中

它是否是一只百脚兽
月亮升起时，它把鞋脱在了窗台上

 

About the Poet

Lei Mo began producing poetry in the 1980s. In the 1990s, he introduced the concept of “New Chan Poetry,” which he has been exploring ever since. His work has appeared in Chinese journals including Poetry Journal, Stars, Poetry Monthly, The Yangtze River Poetry Journal, One Line, New Mainland, and Gemini. His first poetry collection, New Chan Poetry: Aimless Labor from East to West, was published by Long March Publishing House in 2007. In 2025, the Canadian Chinese Publishing House published the Selected New Chan Poetry of Lei Mo. Lei Mo’s poetry has been published in translation in journals including Talisman, amerasia, and CUNY Forum.

About the Translator

Jiang Chenxin is a PEN/Heim-winning translator from Italian, German, and Chinese, and a member of the Third Coast Translators Collective. She’s working on a book by the Hainan-based poet Jiang Hao and her latest translation is for now I am sitting here growing transparent, a collection of poems by Yau Ching (Zephyr Press, 2025). Chenxin was born in Singapore, grew up in Hong Kong, and now lives in Denver in the US. She currently serves as the president of the board for the American Literary Translators Association.