The Broken Seals: Part One of The Marshes of Mount Liang [Paperback]

John Dent-Young (Translator), Alex Dent-Young (Translator)

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

John Dent-Young has taught in Burma, Sri Lanka, Spain, and Thailand, and at present is lecturer in English at The Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Alex Dent-Young works as a translator with Baker and Mckenzie in Hong Kong

Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: The Chinese University Press (June 15, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9622016022
• ISBN-13: 978-9622016026
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,633,742 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best translation, March 8, 2003

By 

Paul Mason "The Sleepy Scholar of Zhenfu" (Nagoya Japan) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Broken Seals: Part One of The Marshes of Mount Liang (Paperback)

Another reviewer complained that this is based on the 'least popular' version of the story. They're right in only the loosest sense. Fashions change: that 'least popular' version was the dominant version of the story for most of its history! Moreover, the full (four book) version of the Shapiro text also draws on that version.
But the sure clue is that Pearl Buck's piece of orientalist flim-flam, which distorts the story and squeezes it into an unnatural idiom, gets rated higher (and the J H Jackson translation, which while poor, is nevertheless preferable to Buck's, is unmentioned). The Dent-Young's version is immeasurably better written, and it is clear that they have been at pains to try to capture the immediacy and wit of the original: no easy task. I think in the first book they succeed admirably. While later books have some problems (the names are always a sticking point) the first book has a verve that draws you in. They have also smoothed out some peculiarities present in previous translations so that there are no 'blips' where you can't work out why something happened or where something came from.
American readers with an intolerance for anything but US culture may have a problem with the British idiom occasionally employed in a desire to capture the naturalness of the original, but in that case why would such readers want to read a Chinese book?

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fun translation of a classic, January 7, 2003

By 

Sean Francisco Smith "New York Jazz MythMaker" (Brooklyn, NY United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Broken Seals: Part One of The Marshes of Mount Liang (Paperback)

It's too bad that this translation doesn't get more attention. The father and son team brings this classic to light in a fun and engaging manner. Even better, unlike many translations, they manage to keep the poetry at the same level of aptitude as the prose.

The original itself is a classic of Chinese Literature, although not as powerful and comprehesensive as Dreams of Red Mansions. Still it's a fun read.

11 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book, December 15, 2000

By 

Marshall A. Childs (Palo Alto, ca United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Broken Seals: Part One of The Marshes of Mount Liang (Paperback)

This is a classical piece of Chinese literature that has the impact of a Holy Grail / King Arthur. This is perhaps the most read piece of Chinese literature in history. The characters and the stories reveal the Chinese intellect and culture. This is a "cannot miss" reading for anyone who loves folklore and enjoys a subtle humor. Divided into stories, each carries the moral meanings of the day, all virtues are explored, and stories all interrelate. Heroes always win, but only of the morals are upheld! A fantastic beginning and a character of the Novel style hundreds of years before writing conventions.