Poems of the Masters

Poems of the Masters: China's Classic Anthology of T'ang and Sung Dynasty Verse, translated by Red Pine, 464 pages

This is a translation of the classic collection of 224 poems called Chienchiashih or Poems of a Thousand Masters - the translator chose to drop the "Thousand" in deference to his more literal-minded modern audience.  The collection, compiled in the 13th century, consists of short poems in four different standard forms.  As suggested by the fact that the reputation of the anthology has endured for eight centuries, many of the poems are masterpieces, although a few were included for personal reasons or as exemplars of form, which makes them especially disappointing in translation.

Each poem receives a paragraph of commentary to describe the author and context.  The critical importance of this commentary is illustrated by Wang Chi's "Gazing across the Countryside":

     Watching dusk fade at Tungkao

     I look for something to lean on

     every tree is the color of fall

     peak after peak loses its light

     cowherds lead their calves home

     hunters ride by with their prey

     I look but don't know their faces

     I sing about gathering ferns

The meaning seems clear enough even without knowing that Tungkao was the name of the poet's retirement cottage.  The reader's understanding will be incomplete, however, without the knowledge that the last line is an allusion to the story of two recluses who sang about gathering ferns when asked to enter the emperor's service.

The vast majority of these poems were written by courtiers and concentrate on their concerns, with themes of exile, of virtue unrewarded or even punished, and the difficulty of finding peace in a world of troubles dominant.  There are lighter moments as well, as with the poem Written on a Screen by Liu Chi-sun, left on his office wall as a notice that he was taking the medieval Chinese equivalent of a "personal day":

     Twittering swallows gossip in the rafters

     why do they disturb my daydream reverie

     the clerk beside me shrugs when I ask

     I grab my staff and jug and head for Mushroom Mountain 

Anyone who loves poetry should read this book.