‘Xu Zhimo’ willow cuttings

willow_tree_2016
The weeping willow in full health

Cuttings of one of the willow trees celebrated in Xu Zhimo’s most famous poem “Second Farewell to Cambridge” are to find a new home in China.
 
Two cuttings each of the weeping willow will be presented to Xu’s home town of Haining, his school in Hangzhou and Peking University, where Xu was a student. These will be a gift of friendship from King’s, where Xu was a student in the early 1920s, and it is hoped they will inspire future generations of Chinese students.
 
Hundreds of the cuttings are being nurtured in the greenhouses of King’s after it was discovered the tree had heart rot and honey fungi, and had to be removed. The new plants are expected to grow into trees that could live to 100 years. One will hopefully be planted in the willow’s current location, where it has stood for more than a century.
 
Provost Michael Proctor, said:

“It was with a heavy heart that we had to bid farewell to the willow, but we hope to see it rise again once more to delight visitors from all over the world as they come to enjoy our beautiful grounds and pay tribute to Xu Zhimo’s legacy.”

The willow will also live on in the Xu Zhimo memorial garden, which opened earlier this month. It contains a stone with part of Xu's poem on it, seven large pots glazed with ash from branches of the tree and a Crescent Moon bench, whose surface has a willow leaf design.
 
Xu featured the weeping willow tree in his poem “Second Farewell to Cambridge” in the following lines:

The golden willow on the bank of the Cam
Stands like a bride in the sunset.
Her reflection shimmers in the water,
And ripples in my heart.
 
The poem was written in 1928 after Xu’s third visit to Cambridge – just a few years before his premature death in a plane crash.

news
All the recent news from King's College, from the latest cutting-edge research to announcements from the Chapel and Choir.

Similar Entries

xu-zhimo-garden

A memorial garden commemorating the Chinese poet Xu Zhimo (1897-1931) was formally opened on 10th August by Xu's grandson Tony.

King's College has commissioned a setting by John Rutter of Xu Zhimo's famous poem Second Farewell to Cambridge, and a new arrangement of the Jasmine Flower Song for a new CD.

cover_kgs0031_3000px_1

A new music video release by King's College Choir, featuring tenor Bo Wang and Xu Zhimo's setting of Second Farewell to Cambridge.

onoto_3resized

A percentage of the sales of the Onoto-made pens helps support international graduate students at King's.

eircqx2woaacels

Less than a month to go until the College plays host to thousands of runners participating in the annual race.

srl_photo_1

Fellow Commoner Stuart Lyons (KC 1962) has been awarded First Place in the annual Stephen Spender Prize for poetry in translation.