Customer Reviews

One Hundred Poems from the Chinese (New Directions Books)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

ONE HUNDRED POEMS FROM THE CHINESE. By Kenneth Rexroth. 148 pp. New York : New Directions, 1965 and Reissued.

The present book is in two parts. First we are given Rexroth's readings of thirty-five poems by Tu Fu, based on the Chinese text. The second part consists of a selection of Sung Dynasty poetry, most of which had not been Englished prior to Rexroth.

Rexroth makes no great claims for these translations, some of which he admits are rather free. But he does express the hope that "in all cases they are true to the spirit of the originals, and valid English poems" (p.xi).

It has always seemed to me that Rexroth succeeded brilliantly. Here are a few lines chosen at random from Tu Fu's 'Loneliness' (with my obliques added to indicate line breaks) :

".... Where the dew sparkles in the grass, / The spider's web waits for its prey. / The processes of nature resemble the business of men. / I stand alone with ten thousand sorrows" (p.16).

Here are a few from Su Tung P'o :

".... As for literature, it is its own reward. / Fortunately fools pay little attention to it. / A chance for graft / Makes them blush with joy" (p.73).

These readings of Rexroth will delight all open-minded readers. Who cares if he wasn't a union-approved sinologist? Purists may sputter, but since his versions are 'true to the spirit, and valid as English poems,' could any sensible person reasonably ask for more ?

I've owned the boxed, hardcover first edition of this little volume since it was first published going on 30 years ago. It remains one of my all-time poetry favorites, both for its depth of feeling and for its selection. I recently lent it to my youngest daughter who is now madly in love with it, too, so I may have to buy another copy.

Ancient Chinese poetry is as simple and direct as a drop of rain on your cheek, but don't be misled. It is that very simplicity and directness that gives it the power to cut you to the quick. Since I don't have the volume handy, I can't, unfortunately, cite any examples, but they're there in my heart and the influence my own writing every day. This is an exquisite little book. And don't miss Arthur Waley's "A Hundred and Seventy Chinese Poems" which Rexroth cites in this work.

Kenneth Rexroth is a poet first and a translator second; judged on that basis, his One Hundred Poems from the Chinese is a great success. His approach, set out in a brief introduction, is simply to produce the best English poem he can in the spirit of the original. The resulting translations are more or less free as he thought appropriate for each individual work.
The book is in two parts. Part one consists of Rexroth's versions of 35 poems by Du Fu, whom he describes as "the greatest non-epic, non dramatic poet who has survived in any language". He clearly knows these poems well, and his translations are uniformly good.
Part two offers around 70 works by Sung dynasty poets; some are represented by only one piece, some by more extensive selections. These tend to be more free, more personal, and often strikingly modern works. In Rexroth's words again: "The whole spirit of this time in China is very congenial today"- a statement as true today as when it was written in 1971. Many of these poets are still not well translated in English, so Rexroth's translations are invaluable.
At the back of the book is a brief, but adequate, notes section with information on each poet and explanatory material.
Rexroth's concentration on the lesser-known Sung poets is paralleled by his choice of poems in the Du Fu section. He does not confine himself to the best known pieces found in other collections, striking a good balance between the familiar and the new.
An interesting example of Rexroth's approach to translation is:

Another Spring
White birds over the grey river./Scarlet flowers on the green hills./I watch the Spring go by and wonder/If I shall ever return home.

Rexroth has changed the river's colour from blue in the original to grey: a good example of a liberty which would be objectionable from a translator, but which he can get away with. He also clarifies "blazing" in the original to "scarlet", which allows him to preserve the original's strictly parallel parts of speech in the first couplet.
This is a fine book. It was first published more than 30 years ago, but it has lasted because of the consistently high quality of translation and because of the unusual selection of poems offered. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

I've owned the boxed, hardcover first edition of this little volume since it was first published going on 30 years ago. It remains one of my all-time poetry favorites, both for its depth of feeling and for its selection. I recently lent it to my youngest daughter who is now madly in love with it, too, so I may have to buy another copy.

Ancient Chinese poetry is as simple and direct as a drop of rain on your cheek, but don't be misled. It is that very simplicity and directness that gives it the power to cut you to the quick. Since I don't have the volume handy, I can't, unfortunately, cite any examples, but they're there in my heart and they influence my own writing every day. This is an exquisite little book. And don't miss Arthur Waley's "A Hundred and Seventy Chinese Poems" which Rexroth cites in this work.

I don't really want to rate this book--which incidentally is very good (it's been said that Rexroth is a better poet when he is not Rexroth)--but to clarify what the previous poster wrote. Chinese poetry is not simple--Rexroth's translation is simple. The original Tang poems were metered, rhymed, heavily referential, and too complex to completely translate without a pockmark of footnotes. They only end up unrhymed and direct in English as a legacy of Ezra Pound's use of Chinese imagism as artillery against Victorian metric conventions. (I have the strange feeling that I'm going to end up repeating this post several times.) I think Rexroth's notes are very interesting, like his offhand claim that "Tu Fu is the best non-dramatic, non-epic poet in world history," but I think the Japanese poems tend to translate better into English. So, if you like this, you would probably like 100 Poems from the Japanese as much or more. Burton Watson, Stephen Owen, Arthur Waley, and James Legge are the obvious scholars on this era, though I am partial to AC GRAHAM's Poems of the Late Tang, especially his Li Shang Yin. Hugh Kenner's THE POUND ERA also provides an explanation of Pound's 'translation' that combines sly close critiques with Poundish Pound cheerleading.

Since I returned from my first trip to China, I have become fascinated with Chinese culture and history.

I don't know much about poetry except that I like what I like (what moves and inspires me).

Something tells me that these translations are as much Kenneth Rexroth as they are the Chinese masters, which is fine with me because it is obvious that Rexroth captures a variety of moods and feelings which are quite profound.

I think it does justice to the integrity of this body of literature.

Particularly moving to me are the translations of Mei Yaochen whose poems dealing with his dead wife reveal a passion and respect for wamnhood that bellies our general notion of woman's treatment and subserviant place in China; and the poems of Madame Chu Shu Chen who is also very passionate in her feeling as a woman in China.

Comparisons: translations by Greg Wincup; Xu Yuan Zhong; Tony Barnstone

You *NEED* this book. Every library ought to have a heart. And this book is an excellent place to start.

For those interested in exploring the wisdom and beauty of Chinese poetry, Kenneth Rexroth`s `One Hundred Poems from the Chinese` is the perfect place to start. With selections from masters like Tu Fu and Su Tung P`o to those from lesser knowns like Lu Yu and the great woman poet, Li Ch`ing Chao, Rexroth has compiled a collection of impeccable beauty. Moreover, his translations are delicate and beautiful poems in and of themselves. Spare and straightforward, the poems here capture the austere directness and refreshing clarity of the originals. Nothing in these poems is hidden or manipulated behind cryptic metaphors or obscure allusions. Like the very best of Chinese verse, they sparkle with a shimmering transparency that is accessible to all.

Nature and its infinite magnificence is the central theme of the poems selected here. With Tu Fu`s `Full Moon,` a pitch perfect snapshot is laid bare without any poetic embellishment. " The moon hangs in the vacant, wide constellations. Pine cones drop in the old garden. The senna trees bloom. The same clear glory extends for ten thousand miles." Or with Mei Yao Ch`en`s `The Crescent Moon,` simple images carry the message. "The crescent moon shines/Over the corner of my house. My neighbor`s dogs howl. The family is in trouble." These poems capture moments and glimpses from the swirling stream of life. With their accessibility and universal themes, they transcend the limits of both time and culture.

Rexroth has also included examples from the subjective school. These stand with the best of any confessional poetry found in the West. Su Tung P`o`s poems capture the intensity and anguish of personal tragedy. His moving lament, `On the Death of my Baby Son,` stands out as one such example. "Why could we not have died with him? His little clothes still hang on his rack. His milk is still by his bed. Overcome, it is as though life had left us. We lie prostrate and insensible all day." Such candor and vulnerability in the face of overwhelming grief is rare in modern American verse with its endless ruses and clumsy attempts to `artify` personal pain.

Rexroth goes one further in this marvelous collection by including the love poems of China`s foremost poetess, Li Ch`ing Chao. In her heady sentiment-filled poems, longing and love denied are tied intimately with nature`s inscrutable ways. Her masterful, `Plum Blossoms Fall and Scatter,` combines the inherent passing of all things with the timelessness of the heart. "The perfume of the red lilies dies away. The autumn air penetrates the pearl jade curtain...It is time when the wild swans return...Those who are of one being /Can never stop thinking of each other."

For those readers who find modern poetry annoyingly cryptic at best and frustratingly incomprehensible at worst, this collection of little gems provides the proper antidote. Their brevity, sincerity and wisdom make for a delightful read. While Rexroth does let slip a few anachronisms into his translations (`the sound of cars starting outside` ), for the most part, he has succeeded in crafting poems of grace and singular beauty. For a beginner sampler of classic Chinese poetry, one couldn`t ask for a better one.

I have been a lover of poetry for most of my life. My favorite type of poetry is Japanese; however, I have grown to also love Chinese poetry. This fantastic book provides a series of Chinese poems that are both beautiful and meaningful. In most cases, Chinese poetry seems to have longer verses than Japanese poetry, but fortunately, they are still shorter than most western poetry. I have found myself reading this text numerous times because of the beauty and symmetry of the poetry. In conclusion, this book should be in the collection of everyone who loves Asian poetry. Rating: 4 stars. Joseph J. Truncale (Season of the Warrior: A poetic tribute to warriors)

Like several of the other reviewers I've had this book for years. Rexroth is simply terriffic! If for nothing else read this book for its superlative essays on the various poets given as end notes. Rexroth later included the essay on Tu Fu in his collection The Classics Reclassified. The final sentence reads "Poetry like Tu Fu's answers the question 'What is the purpose of art?'".