thesilkroadtoday
Beijing, June 5, 2026 — In a meaningful gathering that united poetry, calligraphy, cultural diplomacy, and international friendship, renowned Chinese poet Cao Shui paid a special visit to Liu Xunfu, President of the Beijing Oriental Academy of Poetry, Calligraphy and Painting, ahead of his departure for Colombia to participate in the 36th Medellín International Poetry Festival, one of the world’s most celebrated literary events.
During the meeting, Cao Shui, serving as Executive Chairman of the 5th Silk Road International Poetry Festival, entrusted Liu Xunfu with a distinguished cultural mission. He requested that Liu present the Silk Road Laureate Poetry Award to Fernando Rendón, founder and chairman of the Medellín International Poetry Festival and Chairman of the World Poetry Movement. In addition, Liu was commissioned to confer upon Rendón the Certificate of International Communication Ambassador of the Chinese Poetry Spring Festival Gala, recognizing his enduring contributions to global poetic dialogue.
As symbols of literary exchange and friendship, Cao Shui also prepared a collection of books to be delivered to Fernando Rendón. These include Nuclear Explosion, a collaborative volume co-edited by Fernando Rendón, Qiao Damo, and Cao Shui; Songs of the Dreamland, Cao Shui’s Chinese translation of Rendón’s poetry published by Beiyue Literature and Art Publishing House; and the English edition of Epic of Eurasia, translated by George Wallace and edited by Vo Thi Nhu Mai.
The occasion was equally marked by gestures of artistic generosity. Liu Xunfu presented Cao Shui with examples of his celebrated calligraphy as well as copies of his major works, including Song of Migrant Workers—published in Chinese, English, French, and Spanish—and Three Hundred Quatrains by Liu Xunfu. The verses are rendered in the poet’s distinctive calligraphic style, embodying his lifelong pursuit of artistic synthesis.
Widely recognized as the founder of the Poetic Calligraphy School, Liu Xunfu has devoted decades to integrating poetry, calligraphy, and painting into a unified artistic vision. Through the Beijing Oriental Academy of Poetry, Calligraphy and Painting, a nationally recognized 5A-level cultural institution, he has fostered the development of these interconnected arts. His acclaimed work Song of Migrant Workers was later adapted into an opera and performed in Beijing, further extending its cultural impact.
Also present at the gathering was Qi Yuguang, a young sinologist, translator, and scholar whose work includes translating Liu Xunfu’s writings and creatively adapting Western literary classics into the forms of traditional Chinese poetry. His presence added another dimension to an afternoon devoted to literary dialogue and intercultural understanding.
The meeting carried a personal significance as well. June 5 marks Cao Shui’s solar birthday and coincides with World Environment Day. The date is also associated with the birth of Dante Alighieri, one of world literature’s towering figures. In a delightful coincidence, poet Qiao Damo, Cao Shui’s co-editor of Nuclear Explosion, shares the same birthday. The friends commemorated the occasion together with a traditional bowl of longevity noodles, celebrating both friendship and literary companionship.
As Liu Xunfu prepares to represent Chinese poets at the Medellín International Poetry Festival, participants expressed their shared hope that Chinese poetry and calligraphy will continue to reach wider audiences around the world, strengthening cultural understanding through the universal language of art.
