Published 31 July 2026 · Friday Poetry 他不吃螃蟹 / He doesn’t eat crabs Shen Haobo and Liang Yujing Original poem by Shen Haobo, translated from the Chinese by Liang Yujing He doesn’t eat crabs Those years: in that fishing village hunger took many lives. Just beyond the village, the sea was thick with life— fat yellow croakers, razor clams by the fistful, crabs crawling everywhere. One late night, his father slipped past the militia patrols, climbed over the seawall, and groped his way to the shore. In a flurry, he gathered a full basket of crabs. Such a prying-loose-a-corner-of-socialism behavior made his heart pound with fear. He then took a long way home through the neighboring village, over the back hill, across the ridge. His half-starved grandmother, almost toothless, chewed crabs until morning. 他不吃螃蟹 那个年代，那个渔村 饿死很多人 大海就在 村庄外面 肥胖的黄花鱼 大把的蛏子 海螃蟹遍地都是 一天深夜 他的父亲 躲过巡逻的民兵 翻过堤坝 来到海边 手忙脚乱 搞了一筐螃蟹 这种挖社会主义墙角的事情 他干得心惊肉跳 然后绕到邻村 爬上后山 越过山岭 回到家中 他那没有几颗牙 快饿死的奶奶 嚼了整整一夜螃蟹 Shen Haobo Shen Haobo, born in 1976, is considered one of the most controversial voices among the new generation of Chinese poets for being both wickedly erotic and politically satirical in his poetry. His first collection, Great Evil Hidden in the Heart (2004), was banned and he went abroad for a few months to escape arrest. As the leading poet of the Lower Body group, he is the author of nine poetry collections. More by Shen Haobo › Liang Yujing Liang Yujing is a lecturer at Hunan University of Technology and Business, China. He holds a PhD in China Studies from Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. His books of translation include Zero Distance: New Poetry from China (Tinfish Press, 2017) and Dai Weina’s Loving You at the Speed of a Snail Travelling Around the World (Cold Hub Press, 2019). More by Liang Yujing › Overland is a not-for-profit magazine with a proud history of supporting writers, and publishing ideas and voices often excluded from other places. If you like this piece, or support Overland’s work in general, please subscribe or donate. Related articles & Essays 23 October 202623 October 2026 · Friday Poetry The Deluge, 1920 Jocasta Suzanne ... it’s all dramatic: the world becoming shapes. A mound in the mid-distance, already sub- merged, those clutching the roof turning to barely blotches; 18 September 202618 September 2026 · Poetry having a sweetie Gareth Morgan o unfathomable lack! unbelievable luck … really, you wouldn’t believe me my pollen grows in the dark my pollen reeks like bed sheets/br
