Minford and Lau's Classical Chinese Literature: An Anthology of Translations,
Volume 1: From Antiquity to the Tang Dynasty

The summation of more than two thousand years of one of the world's most august literary traditions, this volume also represents the achievements of four hundred years of Western scholarship on China. The selections include poetry, drama, fiction, songs, biographies, and the works of early Chinese philosophy and history rendered in English by the most renowned translators of classical Chinese literature: Arthur Waley, Ezra Pound, David Hawkes, James Legge, Burton Watson, Stephen Owen, Cyril Birch, A.C. Graham, Witter Bynner, Kenneth Rexroth, and others.
Arranged chronologically [for the most part] and by genre, each chapter is introduced by definitive quotes and brief introductions chosen from classic Western sinological treatises. Beginning with discussions of the origins of the Chinese writing system and selections from the earliest 'genre' of Chinese literature — the Oracle Bone inscriptions — the book then proceeds with selections from:

early myths and legends;
the earliest anthology of Chinese poetry, The Book of Songs (work that were anonymous and originally oral);
early narrative and philosophy, including the I Ching, Tao-te Ching, and the Analects of Confucius;
rhapsodies, historical writings, magical biographies, ballads, poetry, and miscellaneous prose from the Han and Six Dynasties period;
the court poetry of the Southern Dynasties;
the finest gems of Tang poetry; and
lyrics, stories, and tales of the Sui, Tang, and Five Dynasties eras.

Contents of Minford and Lau's Classical Chinese Literature: Volume 1: From Antiquity to the Tang Dynasty

PART #1: Before the Han Dynasty (to 206 B.C.E.).

Pattern and sign : The Chinese language
Heavenly questions: Early myths and legends
The book of songs : The earliest anthology of Chinese poetry
The source : Prose of the ancients : early narrative and philosophy
The songs of the south : Shamanism and poetry

PART #2: The Han Dynasty and the Period of Disunion (206 B.C.E.-589 C.E.).

Red and purple threads : Rhapsodies from the Han and Six Dynasties
Mortals and immortals : Historical and pseudo-historical writings from the Han and Six Dynasties
We fought south of the city wall : Ballads and folksongs of the Han and Six dynasties
Tigers setting the wind astir : Poets of the Han, Wei and Jin Dynasties
Bamboo Grove, Golden Valley, Orchid Pavilion : Coteries of the third and fourth centuries
Yuanming: The gentleman of the five willow trees
The murmuring stream and the weary road : Xie Lingyun and Bao Zhao
New songs from a Jade Terrace : Court poetry of the Southern Dynasties
Green bag and yellow covers : A miscellany of prose from the Han and Six Dynasties
The carving of dragons : Early literary criticism
Spirits and humors : Strange tales from the Six Dynasties

PART #3: The Sui, Tang and Five Dynasties (589 - 960).

The great river : Poets of the early Tang
Wang Wei : Poet and painter
Li Bo : The banished immortal
Du Fu : The sage of poetry
Spring, river, flowers, moon night : Poets of the High Tang
Stones where the haft [handle] rotted : Poets of the Mid Tang
Bo Juyi : Madly singing in the mountains
The patterned lute : Poets of the Late Tang
Red leaf : Women poets from the first century B.C. to the tenth century A.D.
Cold Mountain: Poetry of Zen and the Tao
Return to the source : Essays of the Tang Dynasty
The world in a pillow : Classical tales of the Tang Dynasty
Turning the scrolls : Ballads and stories from Dunhuang
Among the flowers : Lyrics of the Tang and Five Dynasties

Contents:

PART #1: Before the Han Dynasty (to 206 B.C.E.).

Pattern and sign: The Chinese language. Includes: Script. The beginnings of Chinese writing. Oracle bones and texts of divination.

Shang dynasty (1600-1028 B.C.) oracle-bone inscriptions are texts incised or sometimes written with a brush on cattle scapula or turtle shells. ... With the exception of record-keeping texts, oracle-bone inscriptions record divinations seeking either the meaning of past events or the course of future events.
[p.10 quoting Stanley Mickel]

Also includes: Bronze inscriptions and texts of ritual. Five styles of calligraphy.

Heavenly questions: Early myths and legends. Includes portions of: The songs of the south ; The book of hills and seas ; The northern lands beyond the sea ; The book of songs.
The book of songs : The earliest anthology of Chinese poetry. The book (305 poems edited by Confucius (551-479 B.C.)) has four sections:
- Folk Songs (or Lessons from the States).
- Minor Odes of the Kingdom.
- Greater Odes of the Kingdom.
- Odes of the Temple and Altar.
Selections together with helpful editorials include:
- Sixty songs in versions spanning two and a half centuries.
  The first song (Guan-ju) with twenty-two translations is fascinating in its variety and in the translators commentaries.
The source : Prose of the ancients : early narrative and philosophy. This 80-page chapter includes annotated samples of disconnected philosophical statements from Confucius and from the Dao, etc., giving a sense of how they came to be and how they can be appreciated. But the most accessible are the lovely moralistic anecdotes of Han Feizi (such as "The Stump-Watcher") and of Liezi (such as "The Keeper of Monkeys").
The narrative include selections from The book of history and Spring and Autumn Annals (the latter a chronology of events between 722 B.C.E. and 481 B.C.E. in the state of Lu). The philosophy includes selections from The Book of Changes and The Analects of Confucius (551-479 B.C.E).
The songs of the south : Shamanism and poetry. The beginnings of self-promoted authorship: Qu Yuan and immediate successors.

PART #2: The Han Dynasty and the Period of Disunion (206 B.C.E.-589 C.E.).

Red and purple threads : Rhapsodies from the Han and Six Dynasties.
By rhapsody here is meant the "rhyme-prose (fu) form" whose

"early form generally consists of a combination of prose and rhymed verse (hence the other English term 'rhyme-prose'), prose serving for the introduction that explains the genesis of the piece [compare the idea of the head-note to a tanka, JZ], as well as for occasional interludes, verse taking over the more rhapsodic and emotionally charged passages.
[p.269 quoting Burton Watson]

The "exuberance and wildness of language ... in some quarters occasioned reservations about the value of works in the rhapsodic form" [Ibid.]

Mortals and immortals : Historical and pseudo-historical writings from the Han and Six Dynasties.
We fought south of the city wall : Ballads and folksongs of the Han and Six dynasties.
Tigers setting the wind astir : Poets of the Han, Wei and Jin Dynasties.
Bamboo Grove, Golden Valley, Orchid Pavilion : Coteries of the third and fourth centuries.
Yuanming: The gentleman of the five willow trees.
The murmuring stream and the weary road : Xie Lingyun and Bao Zhao.
Xie Lingyun (385-433): 11 poems emphasizing the poet's love of exploring mountains. Bao Zhao (414-466): 11 poems, many in the form of ballads and rhapsodies.
New songs from a Jade Terrace : Court poetry of the Southern Dynasties. New songs from a Jade Terrace is an anthology of love poems compiled about 545 by the court poet Xu Ling. Almost 40 poems are translated here, from the 656 poems (dating from the late third century to the mid-sixth century). Xiao Gang (503-551), the crown prince of the Liang dynasty, is believed to have commissioned this work.
Green bag and yellow covers : A miscellany of prose from the Han and Six Dynasties.
The carving of dragons : Early literary criticism.
Spirits and humors : Strange tales from the Six Dynasties.

PART #3: The Sui, Tang and Five Dynasties (589 - 960).

The great river : Poets of the early Tang.

Wang Wei : Poet and painter. Wang Wei (701-761) — musician as well as poet and painter — was employed as a Reminder (similar to a censor) within the central administration. He wrote many solo poems, but he also wrote responsive poems such as this with fellow-poet Pei Di (b.716):

The Deer Enclosure WANG: On the lonely mountain I meet no one, I hear only the echo of human voices. At an angle the sun's rays enter the depths of the wood, and shine upon the green moss. PEI: At the end of the day the mountain looks cold. But a belated wandered still passes on his way. He knows nothing Of the life of the wood: Nothing remains but the tracks of the buck. [p.704; Jerome Ch'en and Michael Bullock's translation]

The Eight Versions of Wang Wei's "A Poem of Farewell [to Meng Haoran]" offer various insights into the original poem, my preference being for Pauline Yu's 1980 (the most recent) version:

Farewell Dismounting I give you wine to drink, And inquire where you are going. You say you did not achieve your wishes And return to rest at the foot of Southern Mountain. But go — do not ask again: White clouds have no ending time. [p.716]

The Editors express some concern, however, that Western translations of Wang Wei might be losing much of the original "ambivalence of Wang Wei, man of the world and Buddhist."

His "Melody of Wei City" is shown translated by William Dolby and also in a version (from Cathay) by Ezra Pound:

Dolby: Morning rain of Wei city Damps the dust clean. Fresh by the travelers' inn Willow's verdant green. Come, I bid you sir: Empty one more cup of wine, For once you're West, beyond Yang Pass, All your old friends are gone. [p.718] Pound: Light rain is on the light dust The willows of the inn-yard Will be going greener and greener, But you, Sir, had better take wine ere your departure, For you will have no friends about you When you come to the gates of Go. [p.717]

Li Bo : The banished immortal. Li Bo (701-762) adapted traditional Chinese forms (especially the yuefu ballad style) to tell tales of love and longing, of intoxication, and of yearning for a simpler and reclusive life. Ezra Pound made several versions of Li Bo's poetry, including the haunting "The River Merchant's Wife: A Letter"

Du Fu : The sage of poetry. Du Fu (712-770) wrote (according to Burton Watson, quoted on p. 766): "in a variety of styles ... innovative in language and subject matter and densely packed with meaning ... striving to open up new areas of expression, his professed aim being to startle with the creativeness of his work". Of especial interest are the seven poems that include not only their translations by David Hawkes, but also the Chinese texts (both the characters and a pronunciation guide), a commentary on each title and subject, a comment on form, an exegesis (explanation of words and lines), and a prose version that one could use as the basis of a poetic version.

The Six Versions of Du Fu's "An Evening Shower in Spring" (the title offered by J.F. Davis) show various insights into the original poem, my preference being for Kenneth Rexroth's 1956 version:

Spring Rain A good rain knows its season. It comes at the edge of Spring. It steals through the night on the breeze Noiselessly wetting everything. Dark night, the clouds black as the roads, Only a light on a boat gleaming. In the morning, thoroughly soaked with water, the flowers hand their heavy heads. [p.812]

Spring, river, flowers, moon night : Poets of the High Tang. Poets of the seventh, eighth, and ninth centuries, this chapter includes seven poems by Meng Haoran (689-740), one of which is:

Taking Leave of Wang Wei: Slow and reluctant, I have waited Day after day, till now I must go. How sweet the roadside flowers might be If they did not mean goodbye, old friend. The Lords of the Realm are harsh to us And men of affairs are not our kind. I will turn back home, I will say no more, I will close the gate of my old garden. [p.826; Witter Bynner's translation]

Stones where the haft [handle] rotted : Poets of the Mid Tang.

Bo Juyi : Madly singing in the mountains
Bo Juyi (772-846) wrote in a letter to his friend Yuan Zhen: "I am accused at the same time of being too obvious and too subtle" (trans. Arthur Waley). The title poem is:

Madly Singing in the mountains: There is no one among men that has not a special failing; And my failing consists in writing verses. I have broken away from the thousand ties of life; But this infirmity still remains behind. Each time that I look at a fine landscape, Each time that I meet a loved friend, I raise my voice and recite a stanza of poetry And marvel as though a God had crossed my path. ... Fearing to become a laughing-stock to the world, I choose a place that is unfrequented by men. [p.878; Arthur Waley's translation]

The patterned lute : Poets of the Late Tang.
Includes a highly regarded series of poems by Sikong Tu (837-908): "The Twenty-Four Modes of Poetry".

Red leaf : Women poets from the first century B.C. to the tenth century A.D.
Good to have a chapter (albeit a brief 20 pages compared with the book's average of about 38 pages for its 30 chapters) on the poetry of women. Also, this chapter is one of the few that does not have an overview commentary from Minford and Lau, which unfortunately suggests a disinterest on their part. It might have shown more respect to these women poets to include them with male poets of their period or style: many of the women are related by blood or by marriage to male poets.

Women poets whose work is included are:

Han Cuipin (9th century) with her lovely:


  A Poem Written on a Floating Leaf 

  How fast this water flows away!  
  Buried in the women's quarters,
  The days pass in idleness.
  Red leaf, I order you —
  Go find someone
  In the world of men.
        [p.955; Kenneth Rexroth and Ling Chung's translation]

Zhuo Wenjun (2nd century B.C.E.)
Ban Jieyu (1st century B.C.E.)
Cai Yan (born ~ 178).
Su Xiaoxiao (5th century).
Bao Linghui (5th century).
Shen Manyuan (6th century).
Li Ye (8th century).
Zhao Luanluan (8th century perhaps).
Xue Tao (8th to 9th century).
Guan Panpan (8th to 9th century).
Yu Xuanji (9th century).
Huangfu Mei (10th century flourishing 910). Her piece "The Story of Yu Xuanji" is in prose but it quotes two poems written by the protagonist, an imprisoned courtesan and murderess. Could this possibly be related to the practice in Japan at this time of monogatari such as the Tales of Ise?

Cold Mountain: Poetry of Zen and the Tao.
While including work by various poets, it has a set of fourteen poems by the seventh (or perhaps eighth) century poem Hanshan of the Tang Dynasty.
Return to the source : Essays of the Tang Dynasty.
After the rarefied air of poetry, it is quite pleasant to return to material in prose.
The world in a pillow : Classical tales of the Tang Dynasty.
Relatively accessible and welcome stories.
Turning the scrolls : Ballads and stories from Dunhuang.
Among the flowers : Lyrics of the Tang and Five Dynasties.
Zhang Huiyan (1761-1802) ... "gives a most succinct account of the origin of the lyric: 'It originated with the poets of the Tang dynasty, who made metres out of popular songs, adding their own words, or lyrics.' " [p.1111]
Each sample in this chapter is give with its own "to the tune of" note. They are often as short as four lines but most typically eight or ten.
The pronunciation guide and the recommendations for further reading are appreciated.

Time Line

1600 B.C.E. to 1028 B.C.E.: Shang dynasty with oracle-bone inscriptions.
12th to 7th century B.C.: The source of the poems in The book of songs : The earliest anthology of Chinese poetry
222-589: Six Dynasties (Wu, Eastern Jin, Liu Song, Southern Qi, Southern Liang, Southern Chen)
551-479 B.C.: Confucius.
581-618: Sui Dynasty.
700-800: T'ang Dynasty early portion: 'Renaissance'.
701-761: Wang Wei, who "was with Li Po and Tu Fu one of the greatest poets of the reign of Emperor Hsuan Tsung.
712-770: The poet Tu Fu.
907-960: Five Dynasties.

Links and Books.

Links and Books.

Related pages: Poetry index. How to Write Poetry.
How to write specific forms: Haibun. Haiku. Hay(na)ku. Rengay. Tanka.

Books of Poetry Form.

Copyright © 2015-2016 by J. Zimmerman, except for the quoted poems.
All rights reserved.

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Minford and Lau's Classical Chinese Literature: An Anthology of Translations, Volume 1: From Antiquity to the Tang Dynasty

Front flap of Minford and Lau's Classical Chinese Literature: Volume 1: From Antiquity to the Tang Dynasty

Contents of Minford and Lau's Classical Chinese Literature: Volume 1: From Antiquity to the Tang Dynasty

Time Line

Links and Books.

Minford and Lau's Classical Chinese Literature: An Anthology of Translations,
Volume 1: From Antiquity to the Tang Dynasty