- Paperback: 216 pages
- Publisher: Copper Canyon Press; 2 edition (Feb 21 2012)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1556593783
- ISBN-13: 978-1556593789
- Product Dimensions: 22.6 x 15.2 x 2.3 cm
- Shipping Weight: 381 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
-
Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#115,135 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #7 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Poetry > Chinese
- #12 in Books > Literature & Fiction > World Literature > Chinese
- #25 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Poetry > Asian
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
Product Details |
Product Description
Product Description
"It is one of the very first art books which helped artists develop the aptitude for seeing the inner essence of various natural phenomena."—Shambhala Sun
"Red Pine introduces Western readers to both the text itself and the traditions it has inherited."—Virginia Quarterly Review
Through a series of brief four-lined poems and illustrations, Sung Po-jen aims at training artistic perception: how to truly see a plum blossom. First published in AD 1238, Guide to Capturing a Plum Blossom is considered the world's earliest-known printed art books. This bilingual edition contains the one hundred woodblock prints from the 1238 edition, calligraphic Chinese poems, and Red Pine's graceful translations and illuminating commentaries.
"Tiger Tracks"
winter wind bends dry grass
flicks its tail along the ridge
fearful force on the loose
don't try to braid old whiskers
Red Pine's commentary: "The Chinese liken the north wind that blows down from Siberia in winter to a roaring tiger. China is home to both the Siberian and the South China tigers. While both are on the verge of extinction, the small South China tiger still appears as far north as the Chungnan Mountains, where hermits have shown me their tracks."
Sung Po-jen was a Chinese poet of the thirteenth century.
Red Pine (a.k.a. Bill Porter) is one of the world's foremost translators of Chinese poetry and religious texts. His published translations include The Collected Songs of Cold Mountain, Lao-tzu's Taoteching, and Poems of the Masters. He lives near Seattle, Washington.
About the Author
Sung Po-jen: Sung Po-jen was Chinese poet of the thirteenth century.
Lo Ch'ing: Lo Ch'ing was the Executive Secretary of Chinese PEN and an advisor to Taiwan's Ministry of Culture.
Red Pine: Red Pine (aka Bill Porter) is one of the world's foremost translators of Chinese poetry and religious texts. He was born in Los Angeles in 1943, grew up in the Idaho Panhandle, served a tour of duty in the U.S. Army, graduated from the University of California with a degree in anthropology, and attended graduate school at Columbia University. Uninspired by the prospect of an academic career, he dropped out of Columbia and moved to a Buddhist monastery in Taiwan. After four years with the monks and nuns, he struck out on his own and eventually found work at English-language radio stations in Taiwan and Hong Kong, where he interviewed local dignitaries and produced more than a thousand programs about his travels in China.
Red Pine's published translations include The Collected Songs of Cold Mountain, for which he was awarded the WESTAF Award in Translation; Poems of the Masters; In Such Hard Times: The Poetry of Wei Ying-wu, which recieved the 2010 Lucien Stryk Asian Translation Prize; Lao-tzu's Taoteching; The Zen Works of Stonehouse ; Guide to Capturing a Plum Blossom by Sung Po-jen, for which he was awarded a PEN West translation prize; and The Zen Teachings of Bodhidharma. He is also the author of Zen Baggage and Road to Heaven: Encounters with Chinese Hermits. He lives in Port Townsend, Washington.
Lo Ch'ing: Lo Ch'ing was the Executive Secretary of Chinese PEN and an advisor to Taiwan's Ministry of Culture.
Red Pine: Red Pine (aka Bill Porter) is one of the world's foremost translators of Chinese poetry and religious texts. He was born in Los Angeles in 1943, grew up in the Idaho Panhandle, served a tour of duty in the U.S. Army, graduated from the University of California with a degree in anthropology, and attended graduate school at Columbia University. Uninspired by the prospect of an academic career, he dropped out of Columbia and moved to a Buddhist monastery in Taiwan. After four years with the monks and nuns, he struck out on his own and eventually found work at English-language radio stations in Taiwan and Hong Kong, where he interviewed local dignitaries and produced more than a thousand programs about his travels in China.
Red Pine's published translations include The Collected Songs of Cold Mountain, for which he was awarded the WESTAF Award in Translation; Poems of the Masters; In Such Hard Times: The Poetry of Wei Ying-wu, which recieved the 2010 Lucien Stryk Asian Translation Prize; Lao-tzu's Taoteching; The Zen Works of Stonehouse ; Guide to Capturing a Plum Blossom by Sung Po-jen, for which he was awarded a PEN West translation prize; and The Zen Teachings of Bodhidharma. He is also the author of Zen Baggage and Road to Heaven: Encounters with Chinese Hermits. He lives in Port Townsend, Washington.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Visionary Details,
By
This review is from: Guide to Capturing a Plum Blossom (Paperback)
Imagine making the micro-stages of a plum blossom's growth the basis of a startling series of nature poems. But this is what Po-Jen Sung manages to do, and Red Pine's translation seems elegent and luminous and baffling in all the right places. The poet is never at a loss for the perfect image. He is intuitive and always flowing with the spirit of the inner details. This is visionary poetry at its best -- and the woodcuts of each of the flower's stages are incomparable. A must read. Thanks to Red Pine for this deeply moving work.
3.0 out of 5 stars
Exquisite.,
By Reuben M (Shek O, Hong Kong) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Guide to Capturing a Plum Blossom (Paperback)
Bill Porter is a devout Buddhist and one of the most outstanding translators of Buddhist classics into English since Arthur Waley. This is a translation, not only of some of the Sung Dynasty's most elegant poems, but also of the first known art book-- yes, it predates Gutenberg by hundreds of years and yes, it contains woodcuts-- of which only one actual copy exists; it is the original from which the Bill Porter worked, housed in a museum in Shanghai. The verses are sublime. The tranlation is incomparably faithful and elegant. The signifigance of this work cannot be overestimated. All sinophiles and students of the language should own this one!
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.0 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews) 27 of 27 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Visionary Details,
By Robert R. Hudson "blind bobby ray" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Guide to Capturing a Plum Blossom (Paperback)
Imagine making the micro-stages of a plum blossom's growth the basis of a startling series of nature poems. But this is what Po-Jen Sung manages to do, and Red Pine's translation seems elegent and luminous and baffling in all the right places. The poet is never at a loss for the perfect image. He is intuitive and always flowing with the spirit of the inner details. This is visionary poetry at its best -- and the woodcuts of each of the flower's stages are incomparable. A must read. Thanks to Red Pine for this deeply moving work.
26 of 28 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Exquisite.,
By Reuben M - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Guide to Capturing a Plum Blossom (Paperback)
Bill Porter is a devout Buddhist and one of the most outstanding translators of Buddhist classics into English since Arthur Waley. This is a translation, not only of some of the Sung Dynasty's most elegant poems, but also of the first known art book-- yes, it predates Gutenberg by hundreds of years and yes, it contains woodcuts-- of which only one actual copy exists; it is the original from which the Bill Porter worked, housed in a museum in Shanghai. The verses are sublime. The tranlation is incomparably faithful and elegant. The signifigance of this work cannot be overestimated. All sinophiles and students of the language should own this one!
|
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
