The whole sentence means the denial of dark politics and the yearning and pursuit of light. Generation: refers to people who grew up during the historical stage of the Cultural Revolution. Dark Night: Alluding to the Cultural Revolution political movement from 1966 to 1976.
The night gave me black eyes, but I used them to find the light. This is from "A Generation" by Gu Cheng. The "Cultural Revolution" was the background for Gu Cheng to write this poem. Although in fact the political movement of the Cultural Revolution has long since faded, in the minds of those who have experienced it, the "Cultural Revolution" is still a present continuous tense, and this state continues until Early 1980s.
In the vast darkness, eyes are the only light. In people's experience, eyes have always been a symbol of transparency. However, the eyes in the poem are "black eyes". This is the feeling in the poet's heart and the poet's deep reflection. This feeling is a heartbreaking pain, a kind of accumulation that accumulates over time. This reflection is heavy, and there is huge fear lurking behind it. And these all point to the "dark night" - the background of that era.
In that kind of era, that kind of environment, such a deep night, the poet wants to look for light. The poet is looking for light with his black eyes. This is a clarion call played by the poet to rebel against the dark night. This level is also the main theme of this poem: the poet not only wants to reflect on the night-like past and pour out the pain in his heart, but also to search for it.
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About the author
Gu Cheng (1956-1993), male, originally from Shanghai, was born on September 24, 1956 in a family of poets in Beijing , an important representative of the Chinese Misty Poetry School, is known as the contemporary "spiritual romantic" poet. Gu Cheng has high attainments in new poetry, old-style poetry and fables. His line in "A Generation", "The night gave me black eyes, but I use them to find light." has become a classic line in new Chinese poetry. .
Baidu Encyclopedia-A Generation (Poems Created by Gu Cheng)