The Selected Poems of T'ao Ch'ien

By Tao Chien

T'ao Ch'ien, (365 - 427, C.E.), one of the most revered poets in classical Chinese literature, is presented in a lucid translation with an introduction. "David Hinton is one of the most impressive of the younger translators of classical Chinese poetry.... His renderings are varied and imaginative while remaining faithful to the spirit of the original."--Burton Watson

• Language: English
• Publisher: Copper Canyon Press
• Release date: Aug 1, 2016
• ISBN: 9781619321441

Book preview

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Contents

Cover

Title Page

Note to Reader

Introduction

Returning to My Old Home

After Liu Ch’ai-sang’s Poem

Home Again Among Gardens and Fields

After Kuo Chu-pu’s Poems

Early Spring, Kuei Year of the Hare, Thinking of Ancient Farmers

In Reply to Liu Ch’ai-Sang

Written in the 12th Month, Kuei Year of the Hare, for My Cousin Ching-yüan

Begging Food

Written on Passing Through Ch’u-o, Newly Appointed to Advise Liu Yü’s Normalization Army

After an Ancient Poem

Back Home Again Chant

Untitled

Turning Seasons

Form, Shadow, Spirit

Scolding My Sons

9/9, Chi Year of the Rooster

9th Month, Keng Year of the Dog, Early Rice Harvested in the West Field

Thinking of Impoverished Ancients

We’ve Moved

Drinking Wine

Wine Stop

Wandering at Hsieh Creek

Together, We All Go Out Under the Cypress Trees in the Chou Family Burial-Grounds

Steady Rain, Drinking Alone

In the 6th Month, Wu Year of the Horse, Fire Broke Out

An Idle 9/9 at Home

Reading The Classics of Mountains and Seas

Cha Festival Day

Seeing Guests Off at Governor Wang’s

Peach-Blossom Spring

Untitled

Written One Morning in the 5th Month, After Tai Chu-pu’s Poem

Untitled

Elegy for Myself

Burial Songs

Notes

Acknowledgments

Copyright

Special Thanks

INTRODUCTION

1. The Work

T’ao Ch’ien (365–427 A.D.), equally well-known by his given name, T’ao Yüan-ming, stands at the head of the great Chinese poetic tradition like a revered grandfather: profoundly wise, self-possessed, quiet, comforting. Although the Shih Ching (Classic of Poetry) and Ch’u Tz’u (Songs of the South) are the ancient beginnings of the Chinese tradition, T’ao was the first writer to make a poetry of his natural voice and immediate experience, thereby creating the personal lyricism which all major Chinese poets inherited and made their own. And in the quiet resonance of his poetry, a poetry that still speaks today’s language, they recognized a depth and clarity of wisdom that seemed beyond them.

T’ao Ch’ien dwelled in the Great Transformation (ta-hua), earth’s process of change in which whatever occurs comes of itself (tzu-jan: literally self-so, hence natural or spontaneous). T’ao and his contemporary, Hsieh Ling-yün, are often described as China’s first nature poets. But T’ao was much more than a romantic enthralled with the pastoral. He settled on his secluded farm because earth’s Great Transformation was perfectly immediate there, because there he could live life as it comes of itself, as it ends of itself. When he spoke of leaving government service and returning to the life of a recluse-farmer, he spoke of "returning to tzu-jan. He took comfort in death as an even more complete return, a return to his native home." Although he grieved over loss and dying because he knew the actual to be all there is,

Reviews for The Selected Poems of T'ao Ch'ien

[unclebob53703 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Been reading a lot of ancient Chinese poetry, enjoying some more than others, found these to be more reflective that most. Enjoyed his playful fascination with wine, even as I've given up drinking myself. The last few poems in the book anticipate his own death, and are starkly beautiful. This short book left me wishing it were longer.

[anthonywillard · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Short (91 pp.), elegant book from Copper Canyon Press, containing poems by classical Chinese poet T'ao Ch'ien, translated by David Hinton. T'ao Ch'ien lived in medieval China, and after a brief career in government service retired to his family farm in the boondocks. All the poems reflect on his experience of living in relative poverty in the country. He much preferred it to life as an official, with the help of quite a lot of wine. The poems are reflective, lyrical, highly attuned to the beauty of nature, and somewhat wistful. The book ends with several powerful funerary poems, seemingly prepared in anticipation of his own funeral. Tao's style is simple, concrete, and conversational. He is an engaging companion. The translations are likewise simple and direct. Hinton also provides helpful endnotes. T'ao Ch'ien is regarded as the first poet of the Chinese Rivers and Mountains School, and was an immense influence on subsequent Chinese poetry. I recommend this book unreservedly.

[detradus_509609532 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This is the most American sample of Chinese poetry I've ever read. I can't even tell if the author was really this flatulent or it just comes with the translation. There is no exotic charm left, and the sobriety that I love so much about Chinese poetry is absent. I feel regret that I could not enjoy a single line, however simple a description, without being angry at the pretentious tone of it all.