The Clouds Should Know Me By Now: Buddhist Poet Monks of China [Paperback]

Red Pine (Editor), Mike O'Connor (Editor, Translator), Red Pine (Translator), Burton Watson (Translator), J.P Seaton (Translator), James Sanford (Translator), Paul Hanson (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 1998

The voices of fourteen eminent Chinese poet monks whose works span twelve centuries (A.D.700 -1900) are here presented both in the original Chinese and in English translation. The collection includes 136 poems divided into six sections with translator introductions to each poet and his work. The poets in this book have been chosen by the translators for their insight into the human condition and for the beauty of their poetic expression. In presenting the work of six very talented translators, including Red Pine (Bill Porter), Burton Watson, and J. P. Seaton, this book provides any reader, novice or expert, with an appreciation and understanding of this elegant and traditional Chinese expression of spirituality.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Gary Snyder brought the Chinese Zen poet Han-Shan (Cold Mountain) to prominence through translations that struck a cord with Zen enthusiasts and back-to-nature mystics alike. Now Red Pine, Mike O'Connor, and four other translators have breathed life into the literary descendants of Han-Shan, poet monks who are most at home in misty hills, contemplating "crimson leaves" and "azure depths." Like its Japanese cousin, the haiku, Chinese Zen poetry conveys pregnant images in spare structures that cascade into layers of emotion and rich associations. The Buddhism itself lies offstage, the poems recalling more of Thoreau or Whitman than Hui-neng or Nagarjuna. The translations here pause and flow like the originals, with poet-painter Paul Hansen's renderings of early Sung monks especially brilliant, outshining even the celebrated Burton Watson's translations of the Tang poet Ch'i Chi. For that trip to your mountain hermitage or when simply hiding out in the backyard, you'll find sure companionship in The Clouds Should Know Me By Now. --Brian Bruya

From Library Journal

The witty introduction to this volume invites us to "take a walk with the Ch'an Buddha-ancestors, these cranky, melancholy, lonely, mischievous poet-ancestors." These poets, Chinese monks of the Ch'an (Zen) tradition who spanned the ninth to the 19th centuries, lived in intimacy with the physical world, many of them in caves or huts in the mountains, and their poems reflect a deep connection to nature. In the 1950s, Gary Snyder made the poetry of the Ch'an poet Han-Shan popular in the West; this volume introduces us to the writings of several others, most of them newly translated into English. The Chinese texts are included. The struggle to quiet the mind, even for these masters, is continually present?and from this struggle come achingly beautiful poems: "Flat Lake cold penetrates water-lily clothes/ the mountain by the lake is neither right nor wrong." In their haunting simplicity, the poems collected here remind us of our oneness with the environment. Highly recommended for all libraries.?Judy Clarence, California State Univ. Lib., Hayward
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Wisdom Publications (November 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0861711432
• ISBN-13: 978-0861711437
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #241,879 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #39 in Books > Literature & Fiction > World Literature > Chinese

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars one of my favourite books of chinese poetry, September 18, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Clouds Should Know Me By Now: Buddhist Poet Monks of China (Paperback)

this collection is an excellent introduction for people who get turned on by the idea of monks living in the mountains, writing poetry, sleeping, drinking wine, writing poetry, sleeping, drinking wine et al. i highly recommend it to people who love buddhism, poetry, or chinese culture. the added bonus is the chinese text. i've been so impressed with anything associated with bill porter a.k.a. red pine that i've bought all of his translations. the translations included here are better and in many cases vastly superior to anything else out there.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A quiet morning, a cup of oolong tea, and this book, July 24, 2005

By 

Andrew Beaulac (Whidbey Island, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Clouds Should Know Me By Now: Buddhist Poet Monks of China (Paperback)

Red Pine, Mike O'Connor, and four other translators have opened for us the world of the literary descendants of Han-Shan, poet monks who are most at home in misty hills, wandering with the rivers, enjoying tea over a fire of leaves. Like Japanese haiku, Chinese Zen poetry evokes imagination and layers of depth with the sparest of poetic structures. The poets' Buddhism is not put on show or even obvious; it quietly underlies their love of nature, their deep connectedness, their insight into the human experience of being alive.

A ten page introduction by Andrew Schelling provides the historical, cultural, religious, and philosophical backdrops for these poets. Then you let your imagine meander through the poems of Chia Tao (779-843), Chi-chi (864-937), The Nine Monks and Chih Yuan (late 10th century), Han-shan Te-ch'ing (1546-1623), Shih-shu (late 17th century) and Ching An (1851-1912). Each section is comprised of an introduction to the poet and his context, the poems, and helpful notes. I appreciate the very helpful Index of First Lines provided at the end of the book, as well as the information about the contributors.

17 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful book of poetry, March 22, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Memphis, Tennesse, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Clouds Should Know Me By Now: Buddhist Poet Monks of China (Paperback)

Wisdom Publications has done it again: another lovely book that brings out the best in an Eastern tradition. The tradition this time is the poetry of Chinese Buddhist monks, and in this volume there are a number of moving and sublime examples of their craft. The poems are presented with visual elegance and an unobtrusive scholarship that makes the volume even more noteworthy. My only objection stems from the organization of the book, wherein six different contributors each choose a poet or group of poets to translate and present. I am not knowledgable enough to know whether it is the fault of the original poets or that of the translators, but the poems in one section really fall flat, and another section is also somewhat below the high state of excellence achieved by the others. But really, this is a minor complaint. The vast majority of these poems will appeal greatly to those who are attracted to this sort of poetry, and the volume over all is very pleasing.