Bust of Persian poet Sa’adi unveiled in China

A bust of eminent 13th-century Persian poet Sa’adi Shirazi, the Master of Speech, has been unveiled in a public park in Nanjing, the capital of China’s eastern Jiangsu Province.

China’s Ambassador to Tehran Chang Hua took it to Twitter to show photos of the unveiling ceremony of Sa’adi’s bust in the Friendship Park in Nanjing.

According to Hua, the bronze bust had been presented by the municipality of the southern Iranian city of Shiraz, where Sa’adi’s tomb is located.

Shiraz and Nanjing are sister cities based on an agreement signed in April 2018.

A bust of Cao Xueqin, the famous Chinese writer of the Qing Era, was installed in Jahan Nama Garden in Shiraz in August.

 As one of the major Persian poets, mystics and metaphysicians of the medieval period, Abu-Mohammad Mosleh al-Din bin Abdallah Shirazi, better known by his pen-name as Sa’adi, is recognized in the literary world for the quality of his writing style and in the spiritual realm for the depth of his thoughts.

Saadi's two best-known masterpieces are the Bustan (The Orchard), composed entirely in verse, and the Golestan (The Rose Garden), in both prose and verse. The two put an emphasis on a unity in mankind and interdependence regardless of social barriers and labels.

Saadi is probably the first Persian poet to have been translated into European languages. A German version of the Golestan appeared in 1654.

Saadi's tomb is located in southern Shiraz. His mausoleum, also called Saadieh, is one of Iran’s major tourist attractions. Lines from Saadi's poems are still commonly used in conversations by Iranians today.

Many Persian elements have been used in the architecture of Saadi's tomb. It is also a National Heritage Site.

MM/FM