Three Chinese Poets: Translations of Poems by Wang Wei, Li Bai, and Du Fu - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0060553529 ISBN 13: 9780060553524

Publisher: Perennial (HarperCollins), 1992

Synopsis

The three T'ang dynasty poets translated here are among the greatest literary figures of China, or indeed the world. Responding differently to their common times, Wang Wei, Li Bai, and Du Fu crystallize the immense variety of China and the Chinese poetic tradition and, across a distance of twelve hundred years, move the reader as it is rare for even poetry to do.

About this title

Reviews

This collection by translator Seth consists of poems by Wang Wei, Li Bai (or Li Po), and Du Fu (or Tu Fu)--three eighth-century Chinese poets whose works have often been translated in recent years. What makes it unique is Seth's thoughtful selection from these masters' vast output. The poems work well together; rich with interaction between the beauties of the physical world and the suffering of the human condition in times of upheaval, they give a tangible sense of China in the final years of the Tang dynasty. Each poet's treatment of these dichotomies springs from his spiritual source: Wang Wei is Buddhist, Li Bai Taoist, and Du Fu Confucian. Seth has blended accessibility with near-faithful recreation of the rhythm and tone of the originals. These poems spring easily from page and tongue, as in this couplet from Du Fu's "Spring Scene in Time of War": "I scratch my white hair, which has grown so thin/ It soon won't let me stick my hatpin in." Recommended for all libraries with even the smallest collections of international poetry.
- Judy Clarence, California State Univ. - Hayward Lib.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Perennial (HarperCollins)
• Publication date: 1992
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0060553529
• ISBN 13: 9780060553524
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 53