Li Kuei-hsien (李魁賢), an esteemed poet who was also known as a cultural critic, translator, and inventor, passed away on Jan. 15 at the age of 87. Upon hearing this news, Minister of Culture Li Yuan expressed his sincerest condolences, praising the unparalleled poet as a pioneering authority in the literary field. A posthumous presidential citation will be conferred on the late writer for his contribution.
Born in Taipei in 1937, Li Kuei-shien graduated from the Taipei Institute of Technology. Over the course of his career, he held multiple roles, including patent engineer at Taiwan International Patent and Law Office, executive director of the Taiwan Inventors Association, and adjunct professor at the Institute of Taiwan Literature, National Chung Cheng University, among others.
Li made his debut with the poem “Sakura (櫻花)” in 1953 when he was still a student at the Tamsui Junior High School. In 1956, he joined the Modernist, a poetry club led by Chi Hsuan (紀弦). He published his first poetry collection, “Columbarium and Others (靈骨塔及其他)” in 1963 and joined Li Poetry (笠詩社) the following year. Additionally, he dedicated himself into translating German literature, especially the poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke, leaving a profound impact on Taiwan’s poetry.
Li received numerous prestigious honors, including the National Award for Arts, the National Cultural Award, and the Wu San-lien Literary Award. He was also nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature by an Indian poetry society in 2001, 2003, and 2006. His poetry has been translated into several languages, such as Japanese, Korean, Romanian, Greek, Spanish, and Mongolian.
The Ministry of Culture emphasized that Li was deeply committed to promoting Taiwanese poetry on the international stage and nurturing young writers, ensuring that Taiwan’s literature gained global recognition.
