Bewitched by the charm of Ireland

Student days in the Emerald Isle cast a spell over Chinese author and poet

"Empty streets flip into a fun fair. A quiet city erupts into a boisterous jamboree. And everything is green."

So recalls Bao Huiyi of March 17 - St. Patrick's Day - a magical day in Ireland.

Bao is the author of The Annals of the Emerald Isle, a collection of essays written during her stay in Ireland, when she was studying Old and Middle English at University College Dublin from 2011 to 2015.

"I went to the parade every year and missed it only once, because you seldom see so many people in Ireland at other times," Bao says.

At first, she went to the event seeking novelty - everyone was dressed in green, wearing green hats and green makeup.

After all, when else could a Chinese student see such a scene but on St. Patrick's Day? And where else but Dublin?

Bao tried to learn more about the tradition.

"I used it as an opportunity to understand Irish society," she says.

Besides describing Irish culture in her book, such as the origin of St. Patrick's Day, Bao also pens her observations on the country and its people.

For example, she describes the Irish as "lukewarm" - "they react slowly and are usually at ease".

During her first autumn in Dublin, a rainstorm swept away an old bridge, which resulted in traffic jams and packed buses every day. She asked an elderly woman when the bridge would be fixed.

"They haven't started yet," the woman answered. "The news said three weeks, but in reality, I think at least a couple of months."

In another chapter, she takes readers to the primitive landscapes of the island - to explore glacial lakes and visit a lighthouse on a rocky shore.

And she familiarizes Chinese readers with the treasures of Irish literature.

Sinead Mac Aodha, executive director of Literature Ireland, praises Bao's work for opening the door of Irish literature to Chinese readers.

Bao, who was born in Shanghai, studied English literature at Fudan University for her bachelor's and master's degrees from 2003 to 2010.

It was the poems of William Yeats, the plays of Oscar Wilde and the novels of James Joyce that drew her to Ireland.

"I was translating Heaney and Yeats before I came to Ireland," Bao told The Irish Times in 2016.

"There is something about Ireland that was always very attractive to me. I think of Ireland as a lighthouse on the edge of Europe in the medieval period. So I always pictured it as a very quiet place where I could live like a hermit and study."

Bao says that she was the only Chinese face in her department at University College Dublin in the past decades.

"But it's the best thing that ever happened to me. Otherwise, there would not be such a book. Being alone helps writing."

Bao has also translated more than a dozen books, many by Irish writers, including acclaimed Irish poet Harry Clifton and novelist Colum McCann.

The Irish experience has also influenced Bao's literary creations.

As a poet, Bao is inspired by Ireland. She published a poetry anthology I Sit on the Edge of the Volcano in 2016.

Bao always remembers that Lu Gusun, the late English literature professor and renowned lexicographer at Fudan University, once encouraged her to study Old English when she was working on her master's degree in Shanghai.

He said, "After she finishes her study and comes back, I, a 75-year-old man, would like to be her student!" Lu writes in the preface of the book.

After graduating from University College Dublin with a doctorate, Bao returned to teach at Fudan. And in September, Bao will start an introductory course on Old and Middle English literature. Unfortunately, Lu died in July.

"But I am happy to see that there are many Chinese interested in Ireland," says Bao, who still receives many letters about The Annals of the Emerald Isle, which was published in 2015.

"Some of my students are already planning to study in Ireland," she says.

xingyi@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily European Weekly 03/24/2017 page21)