The Collected Songs of Cold Mountain |
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Hanshan
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Pages: 272 (Paperback)
ISBN: 1556591403
Pub: Copper Canyon Press
Pub date: 2000-10
Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 224249
Reader Reviews:
Chinese Buddhist master poet d.841 (0/0 people found this helpful)
Bilingual edition with Chinese calligraphic text on the left-hand page and very good English translations on the facing right-hand page. These poems have deeply influenced Seamus Heany's works and that is how I came to know them. The translation presented in this edition is a very fine work in itself, done by a poetic scholar of Cold Mountain who lived and followed the traces of the poet in China for many years. Each poem is 8 lines in length and there are 307 of them all of which are copiously annotated with very detailed footnotes on the left-hand page under the Chinese text. Also included are 49 poems by his colleague (Shih-te) and 4 by (Feng-kan) This edition also includes several photos of the places where the poet lived and worked and a graphic map of China of the time of the poet. Many of these poems are little gems of insight and wit or of sarcasm and bitter irony. They are like seeds, seminal works which I think caused Seamus Heany's mind to take off in poetic flight.
They may do the same for any serious poet who discovers them.
For the Hermit in all of us (3/3 people found this helpful)
This book is the most comprehensive collection to date of the poems of Han-shan, or Hanshan, or Cold Mountain. There is a lengthy and well-researched introduction by Red Pine (Bill Porter) in which he examines the origins of these poems. Hanshan was a wandering poet-monk of 7th to 9th Century China who lived in the mountains and wrote poems on the walls of caves. It now seems unlikely that all the poems were written by one person, but the large time-span suggests several poets who were sympathetic to the original man.
Part of the attraction of these poems in the illusiveness of the author or authors. Who was this Zen Saint?
Red Pine's notes on each poem are excellent - they give historical and literary context, and allow even the novice to access these beautiful pieces of poetry.
If you live in the city and cannot escape, this books allows to slip away for a few minutes at least.
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Categories
Amazon.co.uk places this book into the following categories:
Books -> Subjects -> Poetry, Drama & Criticism -> Poetry -> General AAS
Books -> Subjects -> Society, Politics & Philosophy -> Philosophy -> General AAS
Books -> Refinements -> Language (feature_browse-bin) -> English
Books -> Refinements -> Age (feature_two_browse-bin)
Books -> Refinements -> Format (binding_browse-bin) -> Paperback
Books -> Refinements -> Condition (condition-type)