作者﹕弗里茨·霍夫曼(德国)

几年前，从一位好友那里得到了一本王学忠诗歌英译（因为读不了汉语），了解了王学忠的诗歌。英译本读之难忘，于是干脆德译了一首叫做《呼唤铁人》的诗介绍给我的朋友。

这些诗歌何以如此感人？以下几个方面的特色绝对是其与众不同之处：

第一，王学忠诗歌表达了工人阶级和受压迫被剥削大众的高度意识。《因为我是诗人》一篇教我们不要对一切日常屈辱逆来顺受。你可能会说，“因为我是工人。”敢于直面现实，为事物正名的不仅仅是诗人。王学忠通过横眉冷对小资情调教给我们阶级意识。《呼唤铁人》意思就是呼唤对工人阶级力量和尊严的记忆。这是阶级斗争时期的丰富经验。

第二，这些诗歌形式多样，风格各异。阅读中我们越来越熟悉他的隐喻语言和诗歌艺术手段：用典、暗讽、揶揄和美刺。在《被暴风雨刮倒的树》一诗中，我们读到了一棵倒下的树的生动形象。“残损的躯体/犹如一把把拔出的剑”，就像中国工人阶级一样，虽然被挫败，但没有被折损。于是我们看到了暴风雨后嫩嫩新枝—“闪烁着一个个不屈的生命”。工人阶级的力量会重新起来的，哪怕是经历了最险恶的风暴！

第三，王学忠相信人民，对人民感情深厚。他的全部诗歌都是为工人农民写的，他们会很好理解这些诗歌的。不相信工人阶级的人往往认为为工人农民写的诗要用简单的语言。但是，王学忠诗歌的语言风格多样，富有艺术创新。读到像《三轮车夫》这样的诗，你会体会到体力劳动者的生存状态，不禁开始思索如何改变他们的命运。

第四，王学忠用他的诗歌掀起了读者在思维模式上的一场斗争。我们深深懂得，打开一个新的视角，就会对传统思维模式构成疑惑。在《恨》中，王学忠让我们直面我们的弱点--埋藏在我们灵魂深处的“羊羔般的奴性”。这首发人深思的抒情诗让我们对我们的一些习惯引起重新思考。王学忠用他辩证性的诗作帮助我们检查我们的思维模式。在《不要以为》一诗中，王学忠警告那些当权者不要愚弄更不要低估人民。与此同时，他也告诉读者不要忘记统治阶级力量是有限的，要看到其本质。在《我愤怒》一诗中，王学忠表达了我们对司空见惯的腐败的愤怒，借用埃米利·佐拉的话，他最后说，“我愤怒/不！应该说我控诉/市长大人/强暴了他的国家和民族……”

第五，王学忠的诗歌激情充沛。这些诗歌不但表达了我们在严酷的现实面前所有的情感，而且也表达了我们对美好未来的高尚情感。这些诗歌写爱情与哀伤，写愤怒与仇恨，写乐观与退隐，但就是写退隐情感的诗歌也是尽力规劝读者不要退隐。在每首诗里，你都可以感觉到王学忠想要在读者的心中激起自信的情感。在《不能向你说》一诗中，我们读到了隐约的爱恨情仇。这首诗教给我们爱情和感情的力量。人民被禁锢的情感一旦爆发就会像火山的岩流：“说出的每个字/都是一团火……”

作为靠骑三轮车贩货谋生的下岗工人，王学忠见证了的不仅仅是中国人民的现实生活。作为诗人，他让我们放下我们所有的害怕和屈辱，找回我们的自信和我们的阶级意识。谢谢。

作者简介：弗里茨·霍夫曼，德国冶金工人，埃森纳赫欧佩尔/通用汽车厂务委员会成员，埃森纳赫镇委会成员。

The outstanding poems of Wang Xuezhong

Fritz Hofmann (Germany)

Some years ago, I learned about the poems of Wang Xuezhong by reading a book with English translation given by a good friend, since I do not read Chinese. I was so impressed that what I read I translated one of the poems – “Calling for the Iron Man” – into German language and I introduced it to my friends.

What is so impressive about these poems? The poems of Wang Xuezhong have a number of prominent features, which altogether render them unmistakably unique.

First - the poems of Wang Xuezhong express high class consciousness of and for the working class and the oppressed and exploited masses. The poem “Because I am a Poet” teaches us not to accept all the daily humiliation we suffer, “because I am a worker”, as you could say as well. Not only poets must dare to face reality and call things by their right names. Wang Xuezhong teaches us class consciousness by coping with all kind of petty-bourgeous thinking and feeling. “Calling the Iron Man” means calling the commemoration of the strength and dignity of the working class and it’s rich experiences in class struggle.

Second – there is an infinitely rich variety of forms and stylistic devices in these poems. We become acquainted with a metaphoric language and all the means of poetry: Allusion and insinuation, persiflage and satire. In the poem “Tree Blown down by the Storm” we get a vivid picture of a fallen tree. “It’s broken trunk is an unsheathed sword” like the Chinese working class which has been defeated but not broken. And then we learn about the tender new sprouts – “strong and bright” -  after the destroying storm. The forces of the working class will recover after even the worst storm!

Third  -  Wang Xuezhong has deep confidence in and solidarity for the people. All of his poems are written for workers and peasants and they will understand these poems well. People who do not believe in the working class often think that writing for workers and peasants requires a primitive language. But the language of Wang Xuezhong’s poems is very comprehensive and challenging. Reading a poem like “The Tricyclist” you feel the situation of physical laborers and you involuntarily start to consider about how to change their fate.

Forth – with his poems Wang Xuezhong wages a struggle over the mode of thnking of the reader. There is a deep understanding that to open your eyes for a new perspective you have to question your traditional mode of thinking. With the poem “Hatred”, Wang Xuezhong directly confronts us with our weekness, which lies in our “lamb-like servility”. This provoking lyric challenges us to question some of our habits. In order to help us examining our mode of thinking, the poetry of Wang Xuezhong is dialecical. In the poem “Don’t think that” Wang Xuezhong warns those in power not to fool and underestimate the people. Simultaneously he addresses the reader not to forget the limitation of power of the ruling class and to look behind things. In the poem “I Am Indignated”, Wang Xuezhong expresses our indignation of every day corruption and – borrowing the words of Emile Zola – he concludes: “I am indignated. No! I am obliged to accuse, I should say, the mayor of raping his state and nation in his way…”.

Fifth - Wang Xuezhong’s poems are full of feelings and emotions. They address not only all the sentiments we have in the face of the cruel reality but also the noble sentiments we need for a better future. There are poems of love and sadness, of anger and hatred, of optimism and resignation. But even poems that express a feeling of resignation will challenge the reader not to resign. You can feel in every poem that Wang Xuezhong wants to provoke self-confidence in the hearts of his readers. The poem “I Can’t Tell You” we learn about hidden sentiments of love and it’s agony in hatred. This poem teaches us about the power of love and emotion. Imprisoned feelings of the people will some day erupt like lava from a volcano: “If spoken out every word is a fire…”.

As a worker who has been laid off and who had to make a living by riding a trycle to transport passengers, Wang Xuezhong bears not only witness of the real life of the Chinese people. As a poet he helps us to leave behind all our fears and humiliation and to gain back our self-confidence and our class consciousness. Thank you!

About the author: Fritz Hofmann, German metal worker, member of the works council of Opel / General Motors Eisenach, member of the towns council of Eisenach.