The Chinese Tang Poets: A New Translation
I am uploading my collection of Tang period poetry in translation as a gift to my Chinese friends and to lovers of poetry everywhere. It is a unique translation among the many that have been attempted, since it is the only one that tries to reproduce the metrical form and sound and cadence of the original. The introduction explains how I accomplished this, how I worked with my very fine collaborator, a Chinese scholar, and something about the background and authorship of these extraordinarily beautiful poems.
See the page listed on the right.
1Mary Freeman
wrote on 30 July 2009 at 9:28
“the vital new dynasty that reforms and protects the land, followed by a golden age of wealth and conquest, which yields to luxury and neglect of duty. In its new confidence the dynasty embarks on vainglorious conquests, resulting in stretched supply lines and thus incompetent defence against the perennial invaders, and ends in invasion, rebellion and collapse–with the peasants as always the chief victims.”
This seems to be a universal theme in itself about anything that grows and flourishes and dies, whether it be biological or social or cultural. The ripeness is all and then it’s doomed. The thing is, something else is born, and that has to be enough to cancel out the demise of the other. I sometimes think I was born into the last of an age which still was vitally connected to the ecosystem at large naturally, and I wonder about the future for what huge system, which in many ways seems on it’s way out; and who can tell me what is being born?
2ultra surf
wrote on 3 August 2009 at 17:40
Thank you very much for that magnificent article
3Zashkaser
wrote on 5 August 2009 at 18:26
Nice post — this really hits home for me.
4Vivalkakira
wrote on 7 August 2009 at 8:57
Very Interesting post! Thank you for such interesting resource!PS: Sorry for my bad english, I’v just started to learn this language
5Linda Suddarth
wrote on 9 August 2009 at 15:13
Fred,
I’ve read some of these and will come back and read more. They are of breathless beauty.
Linda
6Ernie Narkevicius
wrote on 12 August 2010 at 8:32
i heard this month that obama is too softly softly because they government is lying to us end this chaos now send them all back were they came from what a load of rot
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8Walter Prenatt
wrote on 5 February 2011 at 21:53
Only wanna admit that this is handy , Thanks for taking your time to write this.