As a global literary phenomenon, modernism was enthusiastically practiced by the Taiwanese and Chinese literary circles in the 1930s. It had once broadened the aesthetic dimension and writing scope for new poetry in Taiwan and China. But such Western-inspired modernist poetry began to lose its legitimacy after the Sino-Japanese War broke out, and continued to be suppressed after the 1949 division. However, modernism returned to the realm of poetry even under such repression: in Taiwan, this re-emergence began in the mid-50s when the government’s interference in art and culture was at its peak; in China, it began in the late 70s shortly after the Cultural Revolution had ended. The rise of modernism in the post-1949 era on both sides was not only a sign of rebellion toward the cultural policies of the time, but also shaped the later appearance of modern poetry. Thus, a comparative study on the return of post-1949 modernism would help in understanding how modern poetry in China and Taiwan came to be as they are today. This research seeks to construct an analytical framework by examining the return of modernism in the post-1949 era. Thus, this project will investigate the social context of the re-emergence of modernism, as well as analyze the meaning of such return through the developmental trajectory within literature itself. By doing so, it is expected to contribute meaningfully to the comparative study of Taiwanese and Chinese modern poetry.