Zheng Xiaoqiong poetessa operaia

The rapid economic growth that China has been able to achieve in the last years is now clearly visible to everyone, not only to experts and specialists in the field; however the social and cultural changes produced by this undeniable development have raised several concerns, which have been discussed in the socio-political realm and in the literary field. Social inequality produced by the economic reforms of recent decades has particularly affected the dagongren: the migrant workers from the rural areas of the country. The difficulties faced by the dagonren became a literary question when some intellectuals began to analyse the living conditions of migrant workers. Since they focused the attention on the possibility of a lower-rung writing in poetry, which could represent these new social subjects, they particularly gave prominence to the migrant worker Zheng Xiaoqiong and her poetry. The aim of this article is to present the main aspects of Zheng Xiaoqiong’s poetry and her contribution to contemporary Chinese literature after a brief introduction on latest poetry debates.