Poems of the Masters: China's Classic Anthology of T'ang and Sung Dynasty Verse

There are many excellent translations of Chinese poetry from people like David Hinton. This book is distinguished by the interesting and illuminating commentary of excellent poems.

I really am delighted with Red Pine's translations of these beautiful and elegant ancient Chinese poems ... and it works well with a book of 50 pinyin and simple Chinese poems that I also bought, for it is neat to see Red Pine's translations. My only wish is that pinyin would have been included with the Chinese characters ... helpful for those of us learning the language ... well, maybe in the next edition. Regardless, I think that this excellent book and its author still deserve five stars ... outstanding.

Fantastic translations of the most beloved poems of China. Red Pine has a great feeling for the material and can put it into English in just the right words. He can recreate the feelings in English that the Chinese poet was trying to express in Chinese, and this is a rare things in poetry translation.

This book translates one of the Chinese classics, a collection of 224 poems written, as the title indicates, during the T'ang and Sung dynasties (roughly 600-1300 AD). Each poem is presented first in the original Chinese, then in an English translation, with accompanying explanatory notes. I began the book predisposed to like it, and was not disappointed. Barriers of time, language, and culture stand between me and the original poems, but Red Pine removes some of the difficulties. His notes give a sense of the poets, the times they lived in, the references in their verse. In some cases, this was sufficient for the translated poems to fully succeed for me as poetry: encapsulating a scene or a mood, moving me or amusing me. In other cases, the translations didn't stir me, but were still of interest as an insight into historical China and the prominent place poetry held within it. I note the choice not to include any punctuation in the translated poems, which reflects the original text but sometimes leads to a slightly unnatural effect in English. The poems are short, either 4 lines or 8 lines, though on half a dozen occasions several poems form a short sequence. Certain themes repeat: nature, friendship, loneliness, critiques on those in power, echoes of war, wine, music, women. Of the 224 poems, I marked 24 as appealing particularly to me, of which five were by Li Pai (also known as Li Bai or Li Po) and four were by Tu Fu (also known as Du Fu). Highly recommended to anyone with an interest in either poetry or ancient China. P.S. For anyone looking for other translations of classical Chinese poetry, I particularly like "A Little Primer of Tu Fu" by David Hawkes and "The Heart of Chinese Poetry" by Greg Whincup, both of which also include the original Chinese texts. About my reviews: I try to review every book I read, including those that I don't end up enjoying. The reviews are not scholarly, but just indicate my reaction as a reader, reading being my addiction. I am miserly with 5-star reviews; 4 stars means I liked a book very much; 3 stars means I liked it; 2 stars means I didn't like it (though often the 2-star books are very popular with other readers and/or are by authors whose other work I've loved).

Arrived on time, well packaged, as described in Amazon product description.

I really enjoy this book. The English translations help me understand the Chinese, and the background about the poet and references a poem makes are outstanding.

Those who have never read Red Pine's translations are in for a treat. Those who have read them will continue to enjoy the feast. Beautiful graphically, the book and the poetry SING! Red Pine has a wonderful gift in transmitting wisdom and spirit with words that transport one to a higher plane of existence, even if only temporarily. Even when the reader returns, the impact still remains and the awareness of the depth of quality one's life can have, is not soon forgotten.

Thank you for this translation, Bill Porter. Your life's work has benefitted mine, I appreciate all your works. The format of this book, with Chinese, and brief synopsis are much appreciated.