Po Chu-i: Selected Poems »

Burton Watson holds a Ph.D. in Chinese Literature from Columbia University and has taught Chinese and Japanese literature at Columbia, Stanford, and Kyoto universities. In 1981 he received the PEN Translation Prize. Having translated dozens of Chinese and Japanese classics, including Chuang Tzu, The Lotus Sutra, and Records of the Grand Historian. Watson is one of the most respected translators of Chinese and Japanese literature.

The T'ang dynasty was the great age of Chinese poetry, and Po Chü-i (772—846) was one of that era's most prolific major poets. His appealing style, marked by deliberate simplicity, won him wide popularity among the Chinese public at large and made him a favorite with readers in Korea and Japan as well. From Po Chü-i's well-preserved corpus — personally compiled and arranged by the poet himself in an edition of seventy-five chapters — the esteemed translator Burton Watson has chosen 128 poems and one short prose piece that exemplify the earthy grace and deceptive simplicity of this master poet.

Choice

Unencumbered by heavy scholarly notes and commentary, the book is light and casual; the eloquent and beautiful style of the translations matches Po's style of poetry, which is known for its clarity and simplicity.

Chronology of the Life of Po Ch-i
Introduction
Poems
Record of the Thatched Hall on Mount Lu
Selected Bibliography