2025 Roll-Call of Chinese Poetry in English Translation

By Andrew Rule, published

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Another year, another roll call! As has long been tradition at Paper Republic, we're rounding out the year with a list of all the Chinese literature that came out in English translation over the last twelve months. This year's list also includes shorter pieces published online and in magazines and anthologies, making it a more comprehensive snapshot of the state of the field than ever before. Today, we unveil the poetry list, followed by the adult fiction and nonfiction lists tomorrow, and the children's literature list on Wednesday.

If you notice a publication missing, please do let us know so we can add it. And if you are one of the authors or translators listed below but don't yet have a Paper Republic profile page, send us an email. We're always looking to add new profiles so that our translation database stays as complete and up-to-date as possible.

Don't forget to scroll down to the bottom of the page to view the shorter translated works published this year, many of which can be read online. Happy exploring!

The Year in Translated Chinese Poetry

This year, we identified many more new poetry collections than last year, but the gender gap remains: out of 15 single-author poetry collections, only 3 are by female poets. The collections cover poets both well-known and lesser-known, both ancient and modern. Some, including Yau Ching's For now I am sitting here growing transparent and Wang Jiaxin's At the Same Time, have been entered into the longlist of prestigious awards like the PEN Award for Poetry in Translation. This is a great sign for the translation of Chinese poetry in the foreseeable future. — Chen Du and Andrew Rule

Cheng Yong, tr. Amy Li
A Thousand Line Elegy
(Roof Books)

Hu Qiuling, tr. Peter Hughes and John Donegan-Cross
2008, Wenchuan Earthquake: A Long Poem by Hu Qiuling
(Cam Rivers Publishing)

Hu Qiuling, tr. Peter Hughes and John Donegan-Cross
September 11, 2001: A Long Poem by Hu Qiuling
(Cam Rivers Publishing)

Hu Qiuling, tr. Peter Hughes and John Donegan-Cross
Wuhan Masked: A Long Poem by Hu Qiuling
(Cam Rivers Publishing)

Huang Fan, tr. Josh Stenberg
flower ash
(Flying Islands)

Huang Fan, tr. Margaret Ross, Josh Stenberg, and Wang Ping
Strumming a Rope
(Gugin Press)

Wang Jiaxin, tr. John Balcom
At the Same Time
(Arrowsmith Press)

Yan An, tr. Chen Du and Xisheng Chen
Middle-Aged Man's Self Portrait
(Toad Press)

Wu Ang, tr. Cecily Chen
Bed
(Beautiful Days Press)

Xin Qiji, tr. Red Pine
If the Mountain Lion Could Sing: The Lyric Poems of Xin Qiji
(Copper Canyon Press)

Yau Ching, tr. Chenxin Jiang
for now I am sitting here growing transparent
(Zephyr Press/Balestier Press)

Ye Hui, tr. Dong Li
The Ruins
(Deep Vellum)

Yen Ai Lin, tr. Jennifer Marie Nunes
Bone Skin Flesh
(Balestier Press)

Yuan Haowen, tr. John Timothy Wixted
The Poetry of Yuan Haowen: Introduced, Interpreted, Explicated
(Chinese University of Hong Kong Press)

Zhang Zao, tr. Fiona Sze-Lorrain
Mirror
(Zephyr Press)

tr. Edward L. Shaughnessy
The Classic of Poetry: Ancient China's Songbook
(Chinese University of Hong Kong Press)

tr. Paul W. Kroll
Finest Souls of Our Rivers and Alps: A High Tang Poetry Anthology
(De Gruyter Brill)

tr. Wilt L. Idema
The Kitchen God and His Wives: A Modern Chinese Folk Epic
(Cornell University Press)

tr. Shangyang Fang
Study of Sorrow: Translations
(Copper Canyon Press)

Click to show shorter works
A Hua, tr. Xuelan Su:
A Hua, tr. Xuelan Su and Ziying Fan:
  • “Spring Splits in Two” (Boundless 2025: The Anthology of the Rio Grande International Poetry Festival)

A Hua, tr. Xuelan Su and Kexin Song:
Bai Hua, tr. Zhang Xinyue and Austin Woerner:
Nianxi Chen, tr. Melisa Cahnmann-Taylor and Kuo Zhang:
Hung-sen Chen, tr. John Balcom:
Chen I-chih, tr. Diana Shi and George O'Connell:
Chi-Der Cheng, tr. John Balcom:
Ding Cheng, tr. Kexin Song:
Mimosa Lam, tr. Fion Tse:
Louise Law, tr. Jacqueline Leung:
Li Qingzhao, tr. Wendy Chen:
Jyang-lung Lin, tr. Yanwing Leung:
Liu Ligan, tr. Dong Li:
Lo Fu, tr. Yanwing Leung:
Lu Ye, tr. M Lin:
Mu Cao, tr. Hongwei Bao:
Natsume Sōseki, tr. Ryan Choi:
  • from Eight Miscellaneous Views of Mount Hakone and The Sawdust Records (Asymptote)

Qin Chuan, tr. Alison Ramsay Sharpless:
  • “Remembering Distant Victims of War During the Spring Festival” (Taipei Chinese PEN)

Sao Xia, tr. Tsong Chang:
Wang Jiaxin, self-translated:
Wang Jiaxin, tr. John Balcom:
Wang Qi, tr. Chen Du and Xisheng Chen:
Tsering Woeser, tr. Fiona Sze-Lorrain with Dechen Pemba:
Xi Chuan, tr. Diana Shi and George O'Connell:
Yan An, tr. Chen Du and Xisheng Chen:
Yan Li, tr. Anna Yin:
Yau Ching, tr. Chenxin Jiang:
Ye Hui, tr. Dong Li:
Yu Yuen Lam, tr. Fion Tse:

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