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.
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.
Waley - 170 Chinese Poems
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.
THE METHOD OF TRANSLATION
It is commonly asserted that poetry, when literally translated, ceases
to be poetry. This is often true, and I have for that reason not
attempted to translate many poems which in the original have pleased me
quite as much as those I have selected. But I present the ones I have
chosen in the belief that they still retain the essential
characteristics of poetry.
I have aimed at literal translation, not paraphrase. It may be perfectly
legitimate for a poet to borrow foreign themes or material, but this
should not be called translation.
Above all, considering imagery to be the soul of poetry, I have avoided
either adding images of my own or suppressing those of the original.
Any literal translation of Chinese poetry is bound to be to some extent
rhythmical, for the rhythm of the original obtrudes itself. Translating
literally, without thinking about the metre of the version, one finds
that about two lines out of three have a very definite swing similar to
that of the Chinese lines. The remaining lines are just too short or too
long, a circumstance very irritating to the reader, whose ear expects
the rhythm to continue. I have therefore tried to produce regular
rhythmic effects similar to those of the original. Each character in the
Chinese is represented by a stress in the English; but between the
stresses unstressed syllables are of course interposed.
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.
THE METHOD OF TRANSLATION
It is commonly asserted that poetry, when literally translated, ceases
to be poetry. This is often true, and I have for that reason not
attempted to translate many poems which in the original have pleased me
quite as much as those I have selected. But I present the ones I have
chosen in the belief that they still retain the essential
characteristics of poetry.
I have aimed at literal translation, not paraphrase. It may be perfectly
legitimate for a poet to borrow foreign themes or material, but this
should not be called translation.
Above all, considering imagery to be the soul of poetry, I have avoided
either adding images of my own or suppressing those of the original.
Any literal translation of Chinese poetry is bound to be to some extent
rhythmical, for the rhythm of the original obtrudes itself. Translating
literally, without thinking about the metre of the version, one finds
that about two lines out of three have a very definite swing similar to
that of the Chinese lines. The remaining lines are just too short or too
long, a circumstance very irritating to the reader, whose ear expects
the rhythm to continue. I have therefore tried to produce regular
rhythmic effects similar to those of the original. Each character in the
Chinese is represented by a stress in the English; but between the
stresses unstressed syllables are of course interposed.
