Between smashing and clapping

Tsao Yu-Po — Poet
Han-Chin's poetry is as cool and clear as marble, yet its inner veins possess the texture of fire, like pathways guiding the soul. Each word and phrase unveils the details of suffering, seemingly a small spiritual history of catharsis, yet capable of becoming the heaviest words of an entire era. The surging language of "Between Fragments and Beatings" provides a dynamism that ignites the reader's imagination, decayed by time, and repeatedly reminds people not to forget to listen to the universe opening up for us amidst the wear and tear of the present, like the salvific echoes of a prayer.

Liao Wei-Tang — Poet
This is a highly challenging poetic coming-of-age ceremony, and Han-Chin has delivered an excellent answer. He brings us back to the prime era of new poetry; I seem to see the youth of Ya Hsien's generation blossoming again in his words. These vibrant poems feel like a突擊 (sudden attack) in this enclosed era.

"Between Fragments and Beatings" is divided into six sections. The first section is titled "Bad Diary." Although the lyrical ups and downs are not prominent, it is full of cruel romance. "Deconstructed love" and "postmodern love" both explicitly state that love is incomprehensible.

The second section collects poems about overseas travel. Some poets, when writing about travel, overemphasize exotic sentiments, and their poems are instead swallowed by the scenery they describe, leaving readers who have not experienced such scenery bewildered. However, Yen Han-Chin does not fall into this trap, as he writes in "Yehliu": "And I am merely a traveler passing by in a hurry / not knowing how to imagine more days of watching the sea."

The third section is titled "Fragments, and Those Mirrors." When a mirror shatters into many pieces, it reflects multiple images of the self. These poems are all written by the poet for others; to some extent, others also reflect a part of the poet.

The implicit theme of the fourth and fifth sections seems to be "disorder." The poet deliberately inverts the sequence of the "Fog Descends" series of poems and intentionally disrupts the numerical order of stanzas in "Somniloquy." These details reveal the disorder in life and poetry.

The sixth section collects inspirations the poet gained from reading. "Waiting for Godot," Yang Mu, "An Elephant Sitting Still," "The Unbearable Lightness of Being," "Journey to the West," Tranströmer, and others appear one by one.