Enter your mobile number or email address below and we'll send you a link to download the free Kindle App. Then you can start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

  • Apple
  • Android
  • Windows Phone
  • Android

To get the free app, enter your email address or mobile phone number.
Download to your computer
Kindle Cloud Reader
Facebook Twitter Pinterest
Qty:1
FREE Shipping on orders with at least $25 of books.
Only 4 left in stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.
Three Chinese Poets has been added to your Cart
Want it Friday, April 1? Order within and choose Two-Day Shipping at checkout. Details
Ship to:
Select a shipping address:
To see addresses, please
or
Please enter a valid US zip code.
or
FREE Shipping on orders over $25.
Used: Like New | Details
Sold by Big Cycle Books
Fulfilled by Amazon
Condition: Used: Like New
Comment: Ships direct from Amazon

Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) is a service we offer sellers that lets them store their products in Amazon's fulfillment centers, and we directly pack, ship, and provide customer service for these products. Something we hope you'll especially enjoy: FBA items qualify for FREE Shipping and .

If you're a seller, Fulfillment by Amazon can help you increase your sales. We invite you to learn more about Fulfillment by Amazon .

Sorry, there was a problem.

There was an error retrieving your Wish Lists. Please try again.

Sorry, there was a problem.

List unavailable.
Have one to sell? Sell on Amazon
Flip to back Flip to front
Listen Playing... Paused   You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition.
Learn more
See all 2 images

Three Chinese Poets Paperback – September 29, 1993

by
Vikram Seth (Author)
› Visit Amazon's Vikram Seth Page
Find all the books, read about the author, and more.
See search results for this author
Are you an author? Learn about Author Central
Vikram Seth (Author), Wang Wei (Author), Li Bai (Author),
4 out of 5 stars 3 customer reviews
See all 8 formats and editions Hide other formats and editions
Price
New from Used from
Hardcover
"Please retry"
—
$54.99 $9.98
Paperback
"Please retry"
$12.99
$1.81 $0.01
Top 20 lists in Books
Top 20 lists in Books
View the top 20 best sellers of all time, the most reviewed books of all time and some of our editors' favorite picks. Learn more
$12.99 FREE Shipping on orders with at least $25 of books. Only 4 left in stock. Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.

Customers Who Viewed This Item Also Viewed

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
This shopping feature will continue to load items. In order to navigate out of this carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate to the next or previous heading.
Back
  1. Five T'ang Poets
    Wang Wei
    4.7 out of 5 stars 14
    Paperback
    $14.51 Prime
  2. A Suitable Boy: A Novel (Modern Classics)
    Vikram Seth
    4.4 out of 5 stars 297
    Paperback
    $12.42 Prime
  3. The Golden Gate
    Vikram Seth
    4.5 out of 5 stars 62
    Paperback
    $13.23 Prime
  4. Laughing Lost in the Mountains: Poems of Wang Wei
    Wang Wei
    5.0 out of 5 stars 6
    Paperback
    $19.95 Prime
  5. Two Lives: A Memoir
    Vikram Seth
    3.9 out of 5 stars 35
    Paperback
    $12.78 Prime
  6. All You Who Sleep Tonight
    Vikram Seth
    4.6 out of 5 stars 9
    Hardcover
Next
NO_CONTENT_IN_FEATURE

Product Details

  • Paperback: 53 pages
  • Publisher: Harper Perennial; Paperback Original edition (September 29, 1993)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0060950242
  • ISBN-13: 978-0060950248
  • Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.2 x 8.2 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 3.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,350,446 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 starsFormally correct translations that do not touch the heart
By Boris Bangemann on March 25, 2002
Format: Paperback
I think there is no task more daunting for a writer than to translate poetry from ancient China. First of all, the poems consist of ideograms, the so-called "characters". Vikram Seth's introduction to his book "Three Chinese Poets" has a good example how a Chinese poem looks in the original characters and in pinyin translation, and how a literal, word-by-word translation would sound: "lonely, close, brushwood, door/ vast, face, falling, light/ cranes, nest, pine, tree, everywhere/ men, visit, wicker, gate, few/ tender, bamboo, hold, new, powder/ red, lotus, shed, old, clothes/ at the ford, lantern, fire, rise/ everywhere, water-chestnut, picker, return home." The freedom given by the lack of grammar stands in stark contrast to the rigid structure of the poem. It consists of eight lines with five Chinese characters in each line. The lines 1, 2, 4, 6, and 8 end with rhyme words. Lines 3 and 4 have an identical grammatical word order, as have lines 5 and 6. Also, the images of the poet are symmetrically arranged. In line 1 a closed door stands in contrast to the vast expanse of line 2; line 3 sets the cranes everywhere in contrast to the few visitors of line 4; line 5 sees new powder against the old clothes of line 6. Only lines 7 and 8 do not contain contrasting images but rather an evening scene that reflects the evening scene of lines 1 and 2. Within this finely crafted structure the poet expresses a feeling: loneliness.
A translator has two options: to stay true to the Chinese characters and the structure of the original poem, or to stay true to what he feels to be the poetic message of the poem. It is essentially the same problem that a piano player faces when interpreting a sonata by Mozart or Beethoven.Read more ›
3 Comments 32 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
4.0 out of 5 starsTranslated ideas can impress too!
By Vivek Sharma VINE VOICE on May 16, 2004
Format: Paperback
I picked this book primarily because after reading both verse and prose from the author, I know the translation would make a great reading. It did. I liked the poetry, the ideas, and whatever Chinese poets must have thought about was communicated as well as possible in well-compiled text. I cannot read or understand Chinese, but my Chinese friends found the translations to be inadequate and half-hearted representations of what they described as timeless, classic poetry. Knowing the difficulty in faithfully representing a different culture for an author, and the complexity of translation of any verse, cultures, times and metaphors, I think Vikram Seth as always did a commendable job. For real taste of his poetic genius, read The Golden gate or All you who sleep tonight!
Comment 5 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars
By doctordoctor on August 11, 2015
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
A delightful little book.
Comment Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse

Set up an Amazon Giveaway

Three Chinese Poets
Amazon Giveaway allows you to run promotional giveaways in order to create buzz, reward your audience, and attract new followers and customers. Learn more
This item: Three Chinese Poets
Set up a giveaway

What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?

There's a problem loading this menu right now.

Learn more about Amazon Prime.