Known as the "Chienli Horse" (a horse with enormous speed and staying power) in literary circles in the Republic of China, Yuan Chiung-chiung attributes all her success to her "Po Le" (the person who discovered the Chienli Horse)--her husband, Kuankuan.

Kuankuan, she explains, is also her teacher and friend who discovered her talent and encouraged her to be a writer. Known as "the urchin poet," Kuankuan led Yuan into the world of nursery stories written by adults. They have since become one of the most celebrated couples in the literary world.

Despite her fame, Yuan states modestly: "I'd rather be known as Kuankuan's wife than as Yuan Chiung-chiung. Without Kuankuan, I could not have succeeded."

Yuan did not start to study until she graduated from middle school. Although she could read novels, newspapers and periodicals for hours on end, she found studying textbooks to be a form of torture.

Nineteen years older than Yuan, Kuankuan followed a more orthodox career. He has been interested in traditional poetry ever since his youth, and has read thoroughly the ancient works his father copied down by hand, as well as the "Chien-chia Poetry" (a collection of poems for children dating from the Tang and Sung dynasties), which were carved in wood. This grounding laid a firm foundation for his poetic development in later years.

In 1949, Kuankuan joined the army, and began the itinerant life of a soldier. While stationed on the island of Kinmen off the coast of the Chinese mainland, he started to write poems, motivated simply by the fact that poets are their own masters. To seek inspiration, Kuankuan read books in libraries on Kinmen and kept clippings of poems and articles from newspapers and periodicals.

It was only after a long struggle that Kuankuan became a popular poet. In 1956, the warm reception given to his newly published works "He Who Sets the Stars Free," and "The Sun Tribe," encouraged him to press ahead. In 1972, he published his first collection of poems entitled "A Desolate Face." The Chinese poet and critic Lofu said: "Kuankuan creates new concepts from previously unrelated objects." He compared him to the famed poet and calligrapher Huang Ting-chien (1045-1105 A.D.)

In addition to poetry, Kuankuan has achieved fame through his prose collections "Please Sit Down, Miss Moon," and "Spring Does Not Arrive in a Bridal Carriage," These seemingly childish titles reveal the fact that Kuankuan is always young at heart. Explained one publisher: "Readers who do not share Kuankuan's childlike approach cannot enter his world."

One person who has undoubted ly entered Kuankuan's world is his wife Yuan. From the first day she met him, she also became an urchin of the literary world. The problem of the age gap was soon solved, as their two extraordinary personalities found so much rapport.

Yuan explained: "To live with a man for a lifetime, there must be mutual understanding, and it is this ideal which we have been pursuing." Neutral observers point out that it was poetry that actually brought Kuankuan and Yuan together. Ten years ago, when Kuankuan first became famous for his works, Yuan was one of his most faithful followers. Particularly inspired by one of Kuankuan's works, Yuan wrote a letter to the editor of the Yushin Literary Agency asking for the poet's autograph. When the letter first reached Kuankuan's desk, he paid little attention to it, since he received so much fan mail. He was persuaded by another poet, Yahsien, to reply to the letter and send an autograph. A few days later, he received a letter of thanks from Yuan, and was impressed by her writing and her knowledge of poetry. From the exchange of correspondence a deep friendship developed, and they were married a year later.

After her marriage, Yuan lost her shyness and became more articulate. Kuankuan persuaded her not only to express her own opinions, but also to absorb differing viewpoints. Yuan worked out a simple formula to achieve this goal. By routinely disagreeing with all Kuankuan's opinions, she helped her own thought and writing style as well as her husband's.

It was Kuankuan's lifestyle that affected Yuan's writing most of all. When a person is called "sophisticated," it usually means he has worked out a set of formulas to cope with the outside world. But Kuankuan has no such formulas. He acts like a child, curious and interested in everything. Yuan has learned to look at the world through the same "eye of the soul," and derives happiness and inspiration from it.

Yuan said that she writes from life rather than imagination, and most of her characters are based on real persons. "I put people into certain situations. It is not I who push forward the plot--it sort of unfolds by itself," she says. Maybe this approach accounts for the fact that her novels are so natural and impressionistic. Recently, she published a collection of short stories and prose entitled "Spring Water Boat," and "The Mundane World." A critic once said, "Yuan's prose style is natural and full of life. Sometimes she uses her own philosophy to develop the plot of a story."

In the literary field, Kuankuan and Yuan improve each other's styles through adversity and lively discussions; in their daily lives, they are in complete harmony. To outsiders, however, their world may seem a little odd.

Kuankuan and Yuan have always maintained their natural and child like kindness, and never stand on ceremony. Despite their success in the fields of writing poems, prose, plays and song lyrics, they feel they are still a long way from their goal. Any minute, something else could capture their interest. Through pursuing their own philosophies, they enrich both their own lives and those of all the people they come into contact with.

A Literary Couple.

A Literary Couple.