Yao Feng

Yao Feng
OSE
姚風
Yao in 2023
Deputy Director of the Cultural Affairs Bureau of Macao
In office
September 2012 – July 2014
Serving with Liang Xiaoming
Premier
Chief ExecutiveFernando Chui
Personal details
BornYao Jingming
1958 (age 67–68)
Beijing, China
Alma materBeijing Foreign Studies University (BA)
University of Macau (MA)
Fudan University (PhD)
Occupation
  • Poet
  • translator
  • editor
  • university professor
  • photographer
  • artist
  • diplomat
  • government official

Yao Jingming OSE (Chinese: 姚京明; pinyin: Yáo Jīng Míng; Wade–Giles: Yao2 Ching1 Ming2; born 1958), better known by the pen name Yao Feng (traditional Chinese: 姚風; simplified Chinese: 姚风; pinyin: Yáo Fēng; Wade–Giles: Yao2 Feng1), is a Chinese poet, translator, photographer, artist and professor emeritus. He is formerly the director of Portuguese at the University of Macau. Yao is the founder and editor-in-chief of the poetry magazine Chinese and Western Poetry. He has published over 20 books in Portuguese and Chinese, and is also notable as a translator of the poetry of Eugénio de Andrade, Fernando Pessoa, Mário de Sá-Carneiro, Miguel Torga, Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen, Florbela Espanca and Nuno Júdice, among others.

Yao also served as a diplomat for the Chinese government and later as a deputy director of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, an organ of the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture within the Government of Macao Special Administrative Region.

Biography

Early life and education

Yao was born in Beijing in 1958;[1] his parents were factory workers. As a primary school student during the Cultural Revolution, Yao was a Little Red Guard.[2] In 1969,[3] he was selected as one of five or six students to study Spanish at Beijing Foreign Studies University, the first batch of students to be able to do so.[4] He later recalled the first sentence he learnt to say was '¡Viva el presidente Mao!' ['Long live Chairman Mao!'].[5] Yao's first poem in Spanish was entitled 'I Met Marilyn Monroe in China'.[4] Working as an assistant to the school librarian, he discovered Herman Melville's Moby-Dick (1851) which made an indelible impression on him.[6] At the age of 18, he was sent away to perform agricultural labour with his classmates as part of the Down to the Countryside Movement.[2] He has referenced Jiang Wen's coming-of-age film In the Heat of the Sun (1994) as particularly accurate to his experience during this period.[5]

Career

In 1976, Yao enrolled as an undergraduate at the Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU), studying Portugeuse.[7] Around this time, Yao began writing limericks.[3] Upon these poems coming to the attention of an academic, he was tasked with translating Portugeuse poetry at the BFSU's Southern European Studio. There he worked alongside notable translators Liu Mingjiu and Guo Hong'an.[6] He graduated in 1981 with a bachelor's degree. He was subsequently assigned to research Portuguese literature at BFSU's National Research Centre for Foreign Language Education, where he worked until 1986.[7]

Yao was seconded to the Chinese embassy in Lisbon as a translator in 1988. There, he befriended Portugeuse poets,[7] namely Maria Ondina Braga and Eugénio de Andrade, who encouraged him to publish his first poetry anthology, Written on the Wings of the Wind (1990). He did so under the pen name Yao Feng, which has the homophonic meaning of 'distant wind'.[5][8]

In 1992, Yao began a two year contract teaching at the University of Macau, receiving a master's degree in Portugeuse literature during this time. He went on to attain his doctorate in comparative literature from Fudan University in Shanghai. His thesis dealt with the representation of China in Portugeuse poetry.[7] In 1994, Yao and the academic Lin Baona commenced the 27-volume Portuguese-Language Writers Series, publishing renowned contemporary Portugeuse writers in Chinese.[6]

Yao founded the academic journal Chinese and Western Poetry in 2002.[6] In honour of its 10 year anniversary, a series of symposia were organised by the Macau Foundation, Guangdong Writers Association and Zhuhai Writers Association, moderated by Yao. among the participants was the literary critic Wang Jiaxin and poets Qiu Huadong, Lei Pingyang and Yan Ai-lin. During the discussions, Ezra Pound was mentioned as having significantly advanced Western interest in Chinese classical poetry.[9]

In 2012, he later served as deputy director of the Cultural Affairs Bureau,[10] resigning the position in 2014. The following year, Yao was a writer-in-residence at the University of Iowa, as part of the institutions International Writing Program.[11] In 2016, Yao was appointed Director of Portugeuse at the University of Macau,[12] the first Chinese academic to be so named.[13] As a critic of Portugeuse literature, Yao has written on Pessoa, Fernão Mendes Pinto, Luís de Camões, Eça de Queirós and Camilo Pessanha.[14] In 2024, he left the University of Macau, being named a professor emeritus.[15]

Other activities

Yao has been described by artist Lin Jiangquan as a 'polymath', being an artist, photographer and curator besides his work as an academic and poet. Around 1999, he also had a small role in the television series Smoke Dragon playing a Chinese neurologist who falls in love with a Portuguese girl in Macau.[4]

Personal life

Yao taught Mandarin to his friend and colleague José Luís Peixoto.[5] Yao sometimes uses other pen names, including Hei Zhongming or Sibyl.[4]

Select bibliography

Portugeuse-language publications
Year Title Title in English Publisher ISBN Pages Note
1990 Nas asas do vento cego Written on the Wind Átrio 9725990137 66
2001 A noite deita-se comigo The Night Lies Down with Me Pedra Formosa Cultural Association 9728118325 89 As Yao Jingming.
A poesia clássica Chinesa: uma leitura de traduçōes Portuguesas Classical Chinese Poetry: A Reading of Portuguese Translations University of Macau Press 9993726117 63
2004 Fragmentos: olhar de Henrique Senna Fernandes Fragments: A Look at Henrique Senna Fernandes Jorge Álvares Foundation / Macau International Institute 9993745073 117 As Yao Jingming; co-authored with Lúcia Lemos.
2007 Um barco remenda o mar: dez poetas Chineses contemporâneos A Boat Mends the Sea: Ten Contemporary Chinese Poets Martins Fontes 9788577070046 166 As co-editor with Régis Bonvicino.
2015 Palavras cansadas da gramática Words Tired of Grammar Gradiva 9789896166144 204 Poetry and photography.
2021 O além da montanha Beyond the Mountain Editora Moinhos 9786556811024 128 Poetry, porse and photogrpahy originally published in Ponto Final's literary supplement, Parágrafo.
Contos de fantasia Chineses Chinese Fantasy Stories 9786556811079 400 As editor; written by Pu Songling; translated by Ana Cardoso, Zhang Mengyao, Chen Qu, Xiong Xueying, Lou Zhichang and Zhou Qian.
2025 O encontro dos extremos: intercâmbio literário entre a China e Portugal The Meeting of Extremes: Literary Exchange Between China and Portugal Gradiva 9789897853906 496
Chinese-language publications
Year Title Title in English Publisher ISBN Pages Note
1997 《一條地平綫，兩種風景》 One Horizon Line, Two Views Macau Official Printing Bureau 9729723575 221 Co-authored with Jorge Arrimar.
2007 《當魚閉上眼睛》 When Fish Close Their Eyes Association of Stories of Macao 9789993789529 109 Co-authored with Christopher Kelen.
2011 《絕句》 In Brief Hong Kong University Press 9789629965297 45 Chapbook; in Chinese and English. As part of the Words and the World series.
2014 《中外文學交流史—中葡卷》 History of Sino-Foreign Literary Exchanges: China-Portugal Volume Shandong Education Press 9787532884926 294 As part of the National Key Publication Project; Portugeuse edition translated by Ana Cristina Alves and published by Gradiva in 2025.
《枯枝上的敵人》 Enemies on the Deadwood Writers Publishing House 9789993711377 247
2015 《我從你開始:——姚風讀詩》 I Begin With You: Yao Feng Reads Poetry Macao Daily Press 9789996548161 243
《龍鬚糖萬歲》 Long Live Dragon Beard Candy Writers Publishing House 9789993711759 403
《大海上的檸檬》 Lemons in the Sea Zhejiang Literature and Art Publishing House 9787533944841 112
2022 《深海點燈》 Lighting Up the Deep Sea Showway Publishing Company 9789864457588 316

Honours and awards

  • 2005: Yao won the 14th annual Rougang Poetry Prize,[16] China's oldest prize for poetry.

Additionally, Yao has been awarded the Changyao Poetry Award and the Macau Literary Award.[19]

References

  1. ↑ Patton, Simon. "Yao Feng". Poetry International Web. Retrieved 3 April 2026.
  2. 1 2 do Mar, Diana (13 May 2016). "YAO JINGMING: Um 'pequeno guarda vermelho' num 'desastre que não poupou ninguém'" [YAO JINGMING: A 'Little Red Guard' in a 'Disaster that Spared No One']. Jornal Tribuna de Macau (in Portuguese). Retrieved 6 April 2026.
  3. 1 2 Su, Manling (29 December 2019). "姚风：写诗让我更加丰富、完整" [Yao Feng: Writing Poetry Makes me Richer and More Complete]. Yangcheng Evening News (in Simplified Chinese). Retrieved 11 June 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Sun, Lingyu; Liu, Jiaru (2023-11-23). "詩人姚風：外界並不知道你經歷了什麼" [Poet Yao Feng: The outside world doesn't know what you've been through]. Jornal San Wa Ou (in Traditional Chinese). Retrieved 2026-07-22.
  5. 1 2 3 4 de Oliveira, André. "Vento distante entre línguas: um perfil do poeta Yao Feng" [Distant Wind Between Languages: A Profile of Poet Yao Feng]. Revista Pernambuco (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 7 April 2026.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Huo, Chaoqun (2025). "在水中熱愛火焰──姚風" [Loving Fire Amidst the Water — Yao Feng]. www.macaumemory.mo (in Traditional Chinese). Retrieved 13 June 2026.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 O'Neill, Mark (10 January 2017). "The evolution of the literary ties between Portugal and China". macaomagazine.net. Retrieved 5 April 2026.
  8. ↑ Santiago, Eduardo (21 December 2019). "Yao Feng, o poeta que sonha sem palavras" [Yao Feng, the poet who dreams without words]. Ponto Final (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 7 April 2026.
  9. ↑ "《中西詩歌》創刊十周年詩會"圓滿結束". 澳門基金會. Retrieved 11 June 2026.
  10. ↑ "文化局兩副局長就職" [Two Deputy Directors of the Cultural Affairs Bureau Take Office]. Government of Macau (in Traditional Chinese). 4 September 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2026. 副局長梁曉鳴和姚京明在社會文化司司長張裕、辦公室主任張素梅、文化局局長吳衛鳴的見證下履新. [Deputy Directors Liang Xiaoming and Yao Jingming assumed office in the presence of Cheong U, Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture; Cheong So Mui, Chief of the Office of the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture; and Ung Vai Meng, President of the Cultural Affairs Bureau.]
  11. ↑ "The International Writing Program: YAO Feng". University of Iowa. Retrieved 2026-07-17.
  12. ↑ "Yao Jingming to head UM Department of Portuguese". Macau Daily Times. 28 June 2016. Retrieved 5 April 2026.
  13. ↑ "Macau quer ser o centro de formação do português na Ásia" [Macau aims to be the hub for Portuguese language training in Asia]. Observatório da Língua Portuguesa (in European Portuguese). 18 October 2016. Retrieved 6 April 2026.
  14. ↑ "Yao Feng". Gradiva (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 7 April 2026.
  15. ↑ "Lançamento do Livro 'O Encontro dos Extremos: Intercâmbio Literário entre a China e Portugal' de Yao Jingming" [Book Launch: 'The Meeting of Extremes: Literary Exchange between China and Portugal' by Yao Jingming]. CCCM, I.P. (in Portuguese). Retrieved 5 April 2026.
  16. ↑ "Yao Feng". Poetry Translation Centre. Retrieved 3 April 2026.
  17. ↑ "Alvará n.º 33/2006, de 31 de outubro" [Permit No. 33/2006, dated October 31, 2006]. Diário da República (in European Portuguese). 2 (211). 31 October 2006. Retrieved 3 April 2026. Ordem Militar de Sant'Iago da Espada [/] Oficial [/] Dr. Yao Jingming, nacionalidade chinesa. [Military Order of Saint James of the Sword [/] Officer [/] Dr Yao Jingming, Chinese national.]
  18. ↑ "第二届中国·霞浦海洋诗会在霞浦开幕" [The 2nd China-Xiapu Marine Poetry Festival Opens in Xiapu]. China Writers Association. Retrieved 2026-07-21.
  19. ↑ "UM and the Macau Scientific and Cultural Centre jointly organized the photography exhibition "Between Light and Shadow" of Yao Feng". Chinese-Portuguese Bilingual Teaching and Training Centre. 10 February 2026. Retrieved 4 April 2026.

Criticism and further reading

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