Evoking Tang: An Anthology of Classical Chinese Poetry [Paperback]

Qiu Xiaolong (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 2, 2007

In Evoking Tang, writer and poet Qiu Xiaolong breathes new life into the works of the Tang dynasty masters, introducing their universal themes--of love and lament, friendship and longing, the serenity to be found in natural beauty--to a whole new audience of Western readers.

The Tang period is the golden age of Chinese poetry. In Evoking Tang, a bilingual collection, Qiu Xiaolong offers English translations of more than 70 classic Chinese poems. The original texts represent the work of almost 40 poets from the Tang period, whose poems are comparable in importance, for English-speaking readers, to those of Shakespeare, Wordsworth, and Longfellow.

Qiu Xiaolong's translations of the poetry of the Tang dynasty reflect his mastery of the subtle nuances of the English language, as well as his intimate familiarity with American and English poets such as T.S. Eliot and William Butler Yeats. The translation of these beloved classic Chinese poems remains faithful to their original meaning and imagery, yet proves enjoyable to English readers as poetry. The anthology is illustrated with 30 traditional Chinese paintings, which are included to aid interpretation and to stir the imagination of readers as they enter the poetic world.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Mona Van Duyn, U.S. Poet Laureate, 1992-1993: Qiu Xiaolong is extravagantly qualified for translating these poems, having as a citizen of China won prizes for his own poetry and for translating T.S. Eliot and other English and American poets into Chinese and, more recently, as a citizen of the U.S., won prizes for his own poetry and fiction in English. To my mind, the "Changgan Song" in this collection rivals Ezra Pound's justly famous, loosely translated version, "The River Merchant's Wife." These renderings have a limpidity of language and metaphor and a subtle rhythm,and Qiu has a poet's sixth sense for when (occasionally) to lift the line with a less direct and more evocative word. Beata Grant, Professor of Chinese Literature, Washington University in St. Louis: Qiu Xiaolong is one of the few translators of Chinese poetry whose native language is Chinese but whose mastery of the subtle nuances of the English language are truly extraordinary. A published poet and acclaimed author of a series of mystery novels set in modern-day China written in English, he is eminently qualified to bring these ancient poems to life yet again. Qiu Xiaolong's lucid and graceful translations of a selection of Tang poems, among them many well-known favorites and some less familiar ones, are a most welcome addition to world literature in translation.

About the Author

Qiu Xiaolong was born and raised in Shanghai, China. While living in China, as an associate research professor at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences and a member of the Chinese Writers Association, he published across diverse fields, including prize-winning poetry translations of T.S. Eliot's poems and Imagist poems. He came to the United States as a visiting scholar in 1988, but what happened in Beijing in 1989 changed his path. He started writing in English and got a Ph.D. in comparative literature from Washington University in St. Louis. He won a Missouri Biennial Award and a Prairie Schooner Award for his poetry. He has authored six highly acclaimed novels--Death of a Red Heroine, A Loyal Character Dancer, When Red is Black, A Case of Two Cities, Red Mandarin Dress, and the Mao Case--which have been translated into more than a dozen languages. He lives in St. Louis with his wife and daughter.

Product Details

• Paperback: 162 pages
• Publisher: Penultimate Press, Inc.; first edition (July 2, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 097606751X
• ISBN-13: 978-0976067511
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,286,299 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Beautiful Experience, February 8, 2008

By 

divinebunbun (Missouri, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Evoking Tang: An Anthology of Classical Chinese Poetry (Paperback)

A beautifully designed collection of poems from the era of China's T'ang Dynasty (7th-9th centuries), poetry's golden age, translated into English by the renowned mystery novelist and poet Qiu Xiaolong. The 80+ poems appear in traditional Chinese characters on the left, facing Qiu's very contemporary English translations. Poets such as Du Fu, Wang Wei, and Li Shangyin come back to life, sounding very much like us in their intense, mostly short poems on friendship, nature, aging, sexual temptation, travel, and the seasons. A book that demystifies Chinese poetry, enhanced by the book's design including classic woodcuts and ink drawings. Readers will warm to it at once.