The T'ang dynasty was the great age of Chinese poetry, and Po Ch?-i (772--846) was one of that era's most prolific major poets. His appealing style, marked by deliberate simplicity, won him wide popularity among the Chinese public at large and made him a favorite with readers in Korea and Japan as well. From Po Ch?-i's well-preserved corpus -- personally compiled and arranged by the poet himself in an edition of seventy-five chapters -- the esteemed translator Burton Watson has chosen 128 poems and one short prose piece that exemplify the earthy grace and deceptive simplicity of this master poet.
For Po Ch?-i, writing poetry was a way to expose the ills of society and an autobiographical medium to record daily activities, as well as a source of deep personal delight and satisfaction -- constituting, along with wine and song, one of the chief joys of existence. Whether exposing the gluttony of arrogant palace attendants during a famine; describing the delights of drunkenly chanting new poems under the autumn moon; depicting the peaceful equanimity that comes with old age; or marveling at cool Zen repose during a heat wave... these masterfully translated poems shine with a precisely crafted artlessness that conveys the subtle delights of Chinese poetry.
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The T'ang dynasty was the great age of Chinese poetry, and Po Ch?-i (772--846) was one of that era's most prolific major poets. His appealing style, marked by deliberate simplicity, won him wide popularity among the Chinese public at large and made him a favorite with readers in Korea and Japan as well. From Po Ch?-i's well-preserved corpus -- personally compiled and arranged by the poet himself in an edition of seventy-five chapters -- the esteemed translator Burton Watson has chosen 128 poems and one short prose piece that exemplify the earthy grace and deceptive simplicity of this master poet.
For Po Ch?-i, writing poetry was a way to expose the ills of society and an autobiographical medium to record daily activities, as well as a source of deep personal delight and satisfaction -- constituting, along with wine and song, one of the chief joys of existence. Whether exposing the gluttony of arrogant palace attendants during a famine; describing the delights of drunkenly chanting new poems under the autumn moon; depicting the peaceful equanimity that comes with old age; or marveling at cool Zen repose during a heat wave... these masterfully translated poems shine with a precisely crafted artlessness that conveys the subtle delights of Chinese poetry.
Imprint | Columbia University Press |
Country of origin | United States |
Series | Translations from the Asian Classics |
Release date | February 2000 |
Availability | Expected to ship within 10 - 15 working days |
First published | February 2000 |
Translators | Burton Watson |
Dimensions | 234 x 136 x 19mm (L x W x T) |
Format | Hardcover - Trade binding |
Pages | 172 |
Edition | New ed |
ISBN-13 | 978-0-231-11838-5 |
Barcode | 9780231118385 |
Languages | value |
Subtitles | value |
Categories | |
LSN | 0-231-11838-4 |