Shambhalla Anthology of Chinese Poetry - J.P. Seaton

Reading

When I shut a book,
I can be at ease.
If I open one, I agonize.
Books are long, and days are short,
feeling like an ant
who wants to move a mountain,
or a man who waits for dawn light
with a candle in his hand.

Of ten I read, I might remember one.
The more's the pain,
that in a thousand years
there'll be more books to read, no end.

So if I wish I were a spirit-being,
or pray Heaven for a few more years...
it's not that I want to dine on dew,
or wander fairylands...
every word that's written,
to read each one, that's all.

Yuan Mei (1716-1798)

Chinese poetry spanning over 2,000 years is presented in this beautiful anthology. It offers an insight into many generations of writers and thinkers. I am struck by the similarities in themes and styles over the milleniums. Clouds passing over a mountain always uncover hidden thoughts and emotions to those who are open to the experience. Chinese poetry is powerful through it's use of images, metaphors, and simple use of language.

This book is well organized with brief descriptions of the times and influences introducing different eras. Unlike many books covering historical periods of poetry, Seaton has not chosen to fill pages with historical facts or his thoughts, but gives maximum space to the great poetry. I very much enjoy his translations which are most challenging for the translator of poetry. He tries to capture the essence of the poem along with the embedded influences in the chinese characters used in the writing of the poems. Consequently, translations of quatrains often contain more than four lines, focusing less on style and more on the beauty and artistry of the poem.