Chinese poet Yu Xiuhua, who presented her poems at the British Library in London, the United Kingdom, on Friday, said she believes that poetry knows no borders and belongs to all humanity.

With the theme of "Writing in the Clouds, Living in the Earth," the special event featured some of Yu's representative works, and previewed excerpts from the upcoming dance-theater production Ten Thousand Tons of Moonlight adopted from her poetry.
In an interview with China Global Television Network, Yu said that poetry brings people closer together and fosters friendship between the Chinese and British people.
"Poetry belongs to the humanity. It is not confined by nationality. I think that no matter which country people come from, their minds are interconnected. No matter what my nationality is, the feelings about the world and understanding of human emotions are always the same. Although there are cultural differences, I think overall, they are basically the same. This is my thought. Those who write poetry or engage in literature, they speak of humanity, rather than the people of a specific nation. Even if some literature is about the affairs of humanity during a certain period, it is still part of the entire stream of human history," Yu said.
British poet Helen Wing said Yu's work resonates so much with the young people, because it helps them understand their own emotions.
"I'm just really amazed at the effect that this poet has on young women. Yu Xiuhua gives a voice to many of the young women and young men, who struggle with how to understand the architecture of their emotions. So I think she's a wonderful voice for people. The languages of love are actually universal. And one of the things that she talks about so much in her poetry is how she is overtaken by feelings that she can't express or that can't be corresponded by someone else. And this is the subject of a lot of my own work and I feel very much that this is how so many people experience the world," Wing said.
Farooq Chaudhry, director of Ten Thousand Tons of Moonlight said he produced the dance drama because he was moved by Yu's work, which gives Western people insights into contemporary China, where "great stories with extraordinary people" take place.
"I read her poetry like six years ago, and I found her poetry deeply moving, and I think there's something about poetry and contemporary dance that is very similar, in that it uses symbolism and metaphor to explain things about how we are as human beings. And I felt there was something in the poetry that really connected with me. I want people to discover Yu Xiuhua. I want them to know her poetry," he said.
Yu was born with cerebral palsy and lived most her life as a farmer in a small village in north China's Hebei Province. Yu created a sensation in 2014 after she posted lines from her poem "Crossing half of China to Sleep with You" on her blog and has now become one of the most read poets in China.