Very few have been translated;
and it is obvious that they are unsuitable for translation, since their
whole merit lies in metrical dexterity.
and it is obvious that they are unsuitable for translation, since their
whole merit lies in metrical dexterity.
Waley - 170 Chinese Poems
" Both poets lived through the most tragic period of Chinese
history. In 755 the Emperor's Turkic favourite, An Lu-shan, revolted
against his master. A civil war followed, in which China lost thirty
million men. The dynasty was permanently enfeebled and the Empire
greatly curtailed by foreign incursions. So ended the "Golden Age" of
Ming Huang. Tu Fu, stirred by the horror of massacres and conscriptions,
wrote a series of poems in the old style, which Po Chu-i singles out for
praise. One of them, "The Press-gang," is familiar in Giles's
translation. Li Po, meanwhile, was writing complimentary poems on the
Emperor's "Tour in the West"--a journey which was in reality a
precipitate flight from his enemies.
_Sung. _--In regard to content the Sung poets show even less originality
than their predecessors. Their whole energy was devoted towards
inventing formal restrictions. The "tz'? " developed, a species of song
in lines of irregular length, written in strophes, each of which must
conform to a strict pattern of tones and rhymes. The content of the
"tz'? " is generally wholly conventional.
Very few have been translated;
and it is obvious that they are unsuitable for translation, since their
whole merit lies in metrical dexterity. Examples by the poetess Li I-an
will be found in the second edition of Judith Gautier's "Livre de Jade. "
The poetry of Su Tung-p'o, the foremost writer of the period, is in its
matter almost wholly a patchwork of earlier poems. It is for the musical
qualities of his verse that he is valued by his countrymen. He hardly
wrote a poem which does not contain a phrase (sometimes a whole line)
borrowed from Po Chu-i, for whom in his critical writings he expresses
boundless admiration.
A word must be said of the Fu (descriptive prose-poems) of this time.
They resemble the _vers libres_ of modern France, using rhyme
occasionally (like Georges Duhamel) as a means of "sonner, rouler, quand
il faut faire donner les cuivres et la batterie. " Of this nature is the
magnificent "Autumn Dirge" (Giles, "Chinese Lit. ," p. 215) by Ou-yang
Hsiu, whose lyric poetry is of small interest. The subsequent periods
need not much concern us. In the eighteenth century the garrulous Yuan
Mei wrote his "Anecdotes of Poetry-making"--a book which, while one of
the most charming in the language, probably contains more bad poetry
(chiefly that of his friends) than any in the world. His own poems are
modelled on Po Chu-i and Su Tung-p'o.
* * * * *
This introduction is intended for the general reader. I have therefore
stated my views simply and categorically, and without entering into
controversies which are of interest only to a few specialists.
As an account of the development of Chinese poetry these notes are
necessarily incomplete, but it is hoped that they answer some of those
questions which a reader would be most likely to ask.
history. In 755 the Emperor's Turkic favourite, An Lu-shan, revolted
against his master. A civil war followed, in which China lost thirty
million men. The dynasty was permanently enfeebled and the Empire
greatly curtailed by foreign incursions. So ended the "Golden Age" of
Ming Huang. Tu Fu, stirred by the horror of massacres and conscriptions,
wrote a series of poems in the old style, which Po Chu-i singles out for
praise. One of them, "The Press-gang," is familiar in Giles's
translation. Li Po, meanwhile, was writing complimentary poems on the
Emperor's "Tour in the West"--a journey which was in reality a
precipitate flight from his enemies.
_Sung. _--In regard to content the Sung poets show even less originality
than their predecessors. Their whole energy was devoted towards
inventing formal restrictions. The "tz'? " developed, a species of song
in lines of irregular length, written in strophes, each of which must
conform to a strict pattern of tones and rhymes. The content of the
"tz'? " is generally wholly conventional.
Very few have been translated;
and it is obvious that they are unsuitable for translation, since their
whole merit lies in metrical dexterity. Examples by the poetess Li I-an
will be found in the second edition of Judith Gautier's "Livre de Jade. "
The poetry of Su Tung-p'o, the foremost writer of the period, is in its
matter almost wholly a patchwork of earlier poems. It is for the musical
qualities of his verse that he is valued by his countrymen. He hardly
wrote a poem which does not contain a phrase (sometimes a whole line)
borrowed from Po Chu-i, for whom in his critical writings he expresses
boundless admiration.
A word must be said of the Fu (descriptive prose-poems) of this time.
They resemble the _vers libres_ of modern France, using rhyme
occasionally (like Georges Duhamel) as a means of "sonner, rouler, quand
il faut faire donner les cuivres et la batterie. " Of this nature is the
magnificent "Autumn Dirge" (Giles, "Chinese Lit. ," p. 215) by Ou-yang
Hsiu, whose lyric poetry is of small interest. The subsequent periods
need not much concern us. In the eighteenth century the garrulous Yuan
Mei wrote his "Anecdotes of Poetry-making"--a book which, while one of
the most charming in the language, probably contains more bad poetry
(chiefly that of his friends) than any in the world. His own poems are
modelled on Po Chu-i and Su Tung-p'o.
* * * * *
This introduction is intended for the general reader. I have therefore
stated my views simply and categorically, and without entering into
controversies which are of interest only to a few specialists.
As an account of the development of Chinese poetry these notes are
necessarily incomplete, but it is hoped that they answer some of those
questions which a reader would be most likely to ask.
