Hai Zi — Asian Copper (English Translation)

Published on Tue Feb 17 2026 11:48:11 GMT-0800 (北美太平洋标准时间)

Asian Copper 亚洲铜 by Hai Zi 海子, 1984, China

Translated by Mu Layla, 2024

Asian Copper

Asian copper, asian copper
Here is where my grandfather died, here is where my father died, here is where I will also die
You are our single burial place

Asian copper, asian copper
The bird’s flights and love’s doubts, everything submerged in seawater
Your master, green grass, living alone atop your small waist, guarding the hands and precious secrets of wildflowers

Asian copper, asian copper
Seen it yet? Those two small pigeons, they’re the shoes left behind by Qu Yuan on the sand
Let us —————— us and the river, together, put it on.

Asian copper, asian copper
Hitting the drums, we call the heart dancing in the dark the moon.
This moon, is primarily constituted of you.