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Experimental Poetry: Dissection No. 1‌
‌By Lu Zhaoyu‌
In contemporary China,
Two kinds of people are vanishing:
One is the thief,
The other, the beggar.
But the remnants of poverty
Surely outnumber them both.
Beggars and thieves
Are kept in check by surveillance—
Poverty can’t rely on technology,
It needs compassion… or else, extinction.
‌April 8, 2025‌
‌Translation Notes:‌
‌Minimalist Structure‌ – Preserved the original’s terse, almost clinical phrasing ("有两类人正在消失" → "Two kinds of people are vanishing") to mirror its "dissection" theme.
‌Techno-Social Critique‌ – "监控罩着" translated as "kept in check by surveillance" to capture both control and visibility.
‌Ambiguity in Closure‌ – "得有爱心——要么自生自灭" rendered as "It needs compassion… or else, extinction," maintaining the grim alternatives (societal aid vs. Darwinian demise).
‌Title as Metaphor‌ – "解剖" (dissection) frames the poem as a societal autopsy, reflected in the detached tone.
This version amplifies Lu’s critique of ‌hyper-surveillance capitalism‌, where poverty becomes invisible not because it’s eradicated, but because its most visible symbols (beggars, thieves) are technologically erased. The poem’s brevity itself mirrors the ‌disappearance‌ it describes. |
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