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3. The Trends in Chinese Literature of XX and XXI Centuries Issues of Far Eastern Literatures: Materials of the 11th International Scientific Cconference. June 27–29, 2024 40 Colangelo Lara (“G. D’Annunzio” University of Chieti-Pescara), lara.colangelo@unich.it The Symbolic Meanings of Food in Contemporary Chinese Literature: Focus on Oil and Fats Food plays such an important role in Chinese life as to lead many to characterize the Chinese as having a food-centered culture” (Simoons 1999, 14). Reflections on food together with depictions of it have indeed always had a central position in Chinese artistic and literary production (Chang 1977). Numerous mentions of the dietary sphere and its influence on psycho-physical well-being can already be found in ancient documents (Parasecoli 2015, 15) such as traditional Chinese medicinal texts and recipe books; similarly, references to the culinary field continue to be abundant in modern and contemporary Chinese literature. From its earlier connotations of a philosophical and mainly Taoist nature (Paolillo 2015, 31–41), to the more recent socio- political implications, the representation of food — as well as that of the human body — is charged with multiple meanings. Being part of a wider research project exploring the role and literary representation of oil and fats in different civilizations, this paper aims to shed some light on the main symbolic significances attached to food and especially oil and fats in contemporary Chinese literature. More specifically, by ana- lyzing a corpus of novels spanning from the 1980s to nowadays, it will be shown how food discourse in contemporary Chinese fiction is “more of an excuse to say something else” (Masi 2002, 20), that is to say, food and, particularly oil and fats, are never portrayed as a mere nutrient source, they are, on the contrary, invested with a strongly metaphorical meaning which has different ideological and existential facets. Keywords: contemporary Chinese literature, Chinese food, food symbolism, oil, fats. Dondokova Maksara (MGIMO University), maksara508@mail.ru Han Dong: the Poet about Poets and Poetry The modern poet Han Dong, a member of the Chinese Writers’ Union, the author of the poetry collec- tions “A Call from Dalian”. “Miracle” and widely recognized stories and novels “Miracle”, “Wolf trace” and others, began to establish and organize the poetry magazines “Old House” back in 1982”, “Lotus”, “The Age of Poetry”, etc. Han Dong was the editor-in-chief of magazine “They”. Today, Han Dong is the editor of Chongqing magazine. A critical approach to creativity, extensive experience in editorial work, active publications of poems, reviews and reviews allow Han Dong to reflect authoritatively on the creative process itself and, in general, on the poetic process in China. Han Dong received his first recognition with a bold statement that the language of poetry should be as close as possible to life phenomena and concepts 诗 到语言为止 “poetry is first and foremost a living language.” Speaking out against clutter, against symbolic modes of expression and against the deliberate praise of pompous heroism. In the wake of scientific and technological progress, all changes in society, various transformations are taking place in modern Chinese poetry. Since the 1980s Han Dong follows trends in the literary process, reflecting his thoughts in poems, articles and various interviews. In his work, the poet touches on a number of topical issues: the language and form of modern verse, the question of the very nature of modern Chinese poetry and the ways of its development, the poet’s place in society, the creative process itself, and many others. It is interesting to trace the ideas of the Chinese poet, which are presented not as momentary thoughts, but as deep reflections that stretch and develop over many years, from article to article, from verse to verse, from image to image. Han Dong is a poet of the the “third generation,” which includes a number of authors. The situation then and now is very different; that why the thoughts of the poets of that generation are so interesting. Keywords: Han Dong, Chinese modern poetry,.