Famed Arab poet Adonis celebrates passion for Chinese culture

BEIJING, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) -- Syrian poet Adonis, a master of Arabic literature, wrote poems with calligraphy brush in Beijing to express his passion for Chinese culture on Saturday.

Adonis, who again narrowly missed winning the Nobel Prize in Literature several days ago, joined in a literati gathering organized by a famous Chinese ink producer, appreciating Chinese ink culture with his friends.

The serial nominee for the Nobel Prize wrote his poem with a brush pen dipped in the Chinese ink, which reads "live a bright life and write a poem" in Arabic, exhibiting his skill to combine the two ancient cultures into one piece of art.

On the occasion, Adonis also recited a fragment of his Arabic poem, in which the poet reckoned the ink as "gorgeous black liquid" and expressed his regret on failure to bring the Chinese ink on board after his visit to Beijing and Shanghai.

Syrian Ambassador to China Imad Moustapha participated in the gathering, saying that such cultural exchange activity can link unacquainted Syrian and Chinese people into good friends.

The ambassador added that it is necessary for Syrian people to understand the Chinese culture because of its long history, remarkable success and future orientation.

Adonis is the winner of the first Golden Magnolia Award of the Shanghai International Poetry Festival this year at the age of 87, whose judges described his influence on Arabic poetry as a match of that of Ezra Pound's and T.S. Eliot's on English-language poetry, according to the organizing committee of the festival.