PREFACE

When we first contemplated the idea of compiling an anthology of Ch’ing dynasty poetry, we agreed that it should be something more than a Cook’s tour of what is a vast, relatively unknown, and often difficult terrain. In a manner of speaking, the question was whether to stop briefly at almost every station along the way, or whether to plan extended visits to only a few scenic spots of recognized acclaim. Because the territory had not been well charted, we decided to strike a balance between the two extremes. Thus, rather than translating only one or two poems by a large number of poets or translating a large number of poems by only a few poets, we have selected seventy-two poets who, we believe, best exemplify the substantial riches and enormous diversity of that era. The amount of space we have assigned to each poet varies substantially and represents our view of their respective importance and place in the context of their times, as well as our judgment of their poetry. Actually, we made some last-minute additions to the anthology with poems by Chin Jen-jui, Sung Hsiang, Wu Tsao, Chiang Shih, Cheng Hsiao-hsü, and Hsüeh Shao-hui when we discovered that their poetry still has considerable appeal for modern readers. On the whole, while some poets are represented by only two or three poems in translation, all major poets have been accorded a much larger representation.

The overall arrangement of the anthology is chronological; however, we have made no attempt to arrange the poems of a given poet in a similar fashion, for there are too many instances where we lack adequate data to do so.

In the introduction, we have sought to identify some of the primary historical and literary factors that helped shape the Ch’ing dynasty, and particularly those ideas and events that held special significance for the poet engaged in the act of creation. Although many matters concerning the history of Ch’ing dynasty poetry remain to be studied and clarified, our findings, while tentative in nature, are intended to provide some background against which the reader can measure the accomplishments of the poets represented in this volume. And, in a similar way, the short essays which precede the works of each poet are intended to assist the reader, particularly the nonspecialist, in gaining a deeper appreciation of the life and work of the individual writer. These essays contain essential biographical and bibliographical information, and many include general comments on the literary and stylistic features of the poets concerned. Taken as a whole, these essays supplement and give specific meaning to many of the ideas expressed in the introduction.

The translations which comprise the centerpiece of this volume are almost entirely new. Only a very small percentage of the total are new versions of earlier translations into English or other Western Ianguages. In some instances, modern annotated editions of a poet’s work may exist in Chinese, in which case problems of understanding and interpretation are made less difficult. In other cases, previous translations into Japanese have proved helpful. However, in most instances our translators have had to sort out the problems themselves.

Although the editors are responsible for selecting the individual poets to represent their times, the choice of which poems to translate for a given poet has been left to the individual translator. Similarly, no attempt was made to impose a uniform style on our collaborators, for we believe that no single standard or method of translation is inherently superior to all others. On the other hand, it is vital that the integrity of the original poem be preserved with respect to meaning, structure, and informing spirit. Therefore, we have compared every translation to the original text, and have made such changes in the English as we deemed necessary to assure accuracy.

There are some features of this volume that require explanation. All Chinese words and names cited herein have been romanized according to the modified Wade-Giles system of transcription. Exceptions to this general rule are the use of the circumflex above the e, en and eng and the breve above u, both of which have been omitted, and the replacement of the letter i by yi so as to avoid unnecessary confusion. The spelling of Chinese place names also follows this same system, except in those instances where other spellings have long been standard, such as the names of major cities and the provinces; e.g., Hangchow instead of Hang-chou or Hangzhou, and Kiangsu instead of Chiang-su or Jiangsu.

Chinese personal names can be confusing at times, primarily because the individual often has more than two or three by which he or she is known. Throughout the narrative sections of this book, we have employed the formal names (ming) of individuals instead of their courtesy (tzu) or style (hao) names, unless otherwise indicated. The various personal names of an individual are listed at the beginning of the prefatory essays, where an author’s courtesy name is given in italics and his or her style name is given in small capital letters. However, some men of letters adopted many different style names during the course of their careers, and in those instances there has been no attempt made to be exhaustive.

For those readers who may wish to consult the poems in their original texts, citations are provided for each poem indicating its location in a standard edition. For reasons of convenience, the titles of the Chinese texts are abbreviated. Most often, these are simple acronyms derived from the full title of the text in question. For example, the original texts of the poems translated for Ch’ien Ch’ien-yi are to be found in the Mu-chai ch’u-hsüeh chi and the Mu-chai yu-hsüeh chi, which have been abbreviated as MCCHC and MCYHC respectively. The collected works of some poets are, however, difficult to find outside China. Consequently, there are times when the reference is to an anthology or general collection, which is indicated by the surname of the compiler. Those references, along with a small number of other abbreviations used in the text, are identified in a list of abbreviations following the introduction. The citations also indicate volume (chüan) and page number. Modern texts require only page number listings; however, for old-style Chinese texts, Arabic numerals are used to indicate chüan numbers, and the letters A and B are employed when necessary to distinguish between shang and hsia (“upper” and “lower”) sections of a single chüan. Page numbers follow the virgule, and there the letters a and b signify recto and verso sides of the page, respectively.

The primary materials for each poet—prefatory essay, translations, and footnotes—appear in that order in the text. Generally speaking, we have attempted to keep the annotation to a minimum; however, where a figure of speech or an allusion is central to the meaning of a line or poem, explanations are given in the appended notes. Some poems abound in historical and literary allusions, and in those cases the annotation has had to be quite extensive to clarify for the reader the full meaning of the poem.

The tz’u (lyrics) enjoyed a notable revival in Ch’ing times, and thus this kind of poetry is well represented in this volume. The various tz’u tune titles are cited in transliteration at the head of each lyric, and on their first occurrence translations of these tune titles in parentheses follow immediately below. Whenever a tz’u is provided with a “subject title,” as increasingly is the practice in the Ch’ing dynasty (with the exceptions of Singde and Wang Kuo-wei in most instances), this subject title is given as the title of that lyric.