CNA file photo

Taipei, March 19 (CNA) Renowned poet Mo Luo-fu (莫洛夫), who was best known by his pen name Lo Fu, died of respiratory complications at Taipei Veterans General Hospital early Monday morning, according to the hospital.

He was 91.

Taiwan's Ministry of Culture expressed its condolences after hearing of Mo's death, with Culture Minister Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君) describing Mo as a pioneer of modern poetry in Taiwan through his many works that led the way in the development of the field.

Her ministry has recommended that the poet be given a posthumous commendation from Taiwan's president, she said.

Mo, who was born in Hengyang in Hunan Province, came to Taiwan in 1949 following the Chinese Civil War.

He later joined the Navy and served in a variety of positions, including liaison officer in the outlying Kinmen County and news editor at a military radio station until his retirement from the service in 1973.

That same year, he earned a bachelor's degree in English from Tamkang University.

While stationed in southern Taiwan, Mo co-founded the Epoch Poetry Society in 1954 and worked as editor of the Epoch Poetry Quarterly for more than a decade.

During that time, he published many poems that later became very influential in both Taiwan and China.

Many leading literary scholars across Taiwan also mourned the loss on their social media pages.

"He has been a great inspiration," retired literary scholar Chen Fang-ming (陳芳明) said on his Facebook page.

Hsu Wen-wei (須文蔚), an academic at National Dong Hwa University in Hualien County, cited Mo's sensitivity and word choices as among the factors making him one of the greatest poets of all time, and said he shall be missed.

(By Sabine Cheng and Ko Lin)
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