| Po Chü-I: Selected Poems Contributor(s): Watson, Burton (Translator) |
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ISBN: 0231118384 ISBN-13: 9780231118385 Publisher: Columbia University Press OUR PRICE: $94.05 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: February 2000 Annotation: The T'ang dynasty was the great age of Chinese poetry, and Po Ch-i (772--846) was one of that era's most prolific major poets. His appealing style, marked by deliberate simplicity, won him wide popularity among the Chinese public at large and made him a favorite with readers in Korea and Japan as well. From Po Ch-i's well-preserved corpus -- personally compiled and arranged by the poet himself in an edition of seventy-five chapters -- the esteemed translator Burton Watson has chosen 128 poems and one short prose piece that exemplify the earthy grace and deceptive simplicity of this master poet. For Po Ch-i, writing poetry was a way to expose the ills of society and an autobiographical medium to record daily activities, as well as a source of deep personal delight and satisfaction -- constituting, along with wine and song, one of the chief joys of existence. Whether exposing the gluttony of arrogant palace attendants during a famine; describing the delights of drunkenly chanting new poems under the autumn moon; depicting the peaceful equanimity that comes with old age; or marveling at cool Zen repose during a heat wave... these masterfully translated poems shine with a precisely crafted artlessness that conveys the subtle delights of Chinese poetry. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Poetry | Asian - General |
| Dewey: 895.113 |
| LCCN: 99024284 |
| Series: Translations from the Asian Classics |
| Physical Information: 0.73" H x 5.46" W x 9.27" (0.70 lbs) 172 pages |
| Themes: - Cultural Region - Asian |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: The T'ang dynasty was the great age of Chinese poetry, and Po Ch -i (772-846) was one of that era's most prolific major poets. His appealing style, marked by deliberate simplicity, won him wide popularity among the Chinese public at large and made him a favorite with readers in Korea and Japan as well. From Po Ch -i's well-preserved corpus--personally compiled and arranged by the poet himself in an edition of seventy-five chapters--the esteemed translator Burton Watson has chosen 128 poems and one short prose piece that exemplify the earthy grace and deceptive simplicity of this master poet. For Po Ch -i, writing poetry was a way to expose the ills of society and an autobiographical medium to record daily activities, as well as a source of deep personal delight and satisfaction--constituting, along with wine and song, one of the chief joys of existence. Whether exposing the gluttony of arrogant palace attendants during a famine; describing the delights of drunkenly chanting new poems under the autumn moon; depicting the peaceful equanimity that comes with old age; or marveling at cool Zen repose during a heat wave... these masterfully translated poems shine with a precisely crafted artlessness that conveys the subtle delights of Chinese poetry. |