Taipei 101
機械複製時代的藝術作品—台北101
作者：羅喬偉
那是刺穿地心的一支巨矛
她代表著對文明的一種讚譽
那是人類締造的一座高塔
她象徵著對命運的一種抗拒
整個世界就像是一齣滑稽劇
以她為中心而運轉不息
終使我們都笑了起來
Taipei 101—Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction
by Luo Chiao Wei
This gigantic spear, piercing the heart of the earth
Marks the high triumph of our civilization
Man-made, this tall pagoda
Symbolizes our resistance to fate
The entire world, like a farce
Rotates around her restlessly
Finally brings laughter to our lips.
- Translated by Karl K. Zhang, George Mason University
Taipeh 101-- Das Kunstwerk im Zeitalter seiner technischen Reproduzierbarkeit
von Luo Chiao Wei
Dieser gigantische Speer, das Herz der Erde durchbohrend,
markiert den Triumph unserer Zivilisation
Von Menschen erbaut, ist diese hohe Pagode ein Symbol
Des Widerstands gegen das Schicksal
Wie eine Posse dreht sich die Welt
Rastlos um sie
Und bringt uns endlich zum Lachen.
-Translated by Felix R. Zhang, Pomona College and Heribert Uschtrin, Goethe-Institut Washington
About the Poet: Luo Qiao-wei (b. 1981)
Formerly chief editor of the Taipei City Cultural Office publication Cultural Express, he is now an independent cultural exhibition organizer, and owner of an online book store. He has received numerous awards, and publishes frequently in journals and newspapers in Taiwan.
About the Poem: Taipei 101
Taipei 101 is a skyscraper built to be the tallest in the world. Following in the steps of famous structures like the Eiffel Tower, New York’s Empire State and World Trade Center buildings, and the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia, it is both an architectural marvel and a doomed bid for glory – for even taller structures are already being built. Luo’s poem offers a light-hearted take on the phenomenon of striving for greatness, and briefly achieving it, only to recognize at last the futility of lasting greatness. I read this poem to mean that true glory lies in making the attempt, not its final result.
