How do you think of Chinese Literature

[joynone]

I am a chinese guy,and major in comparative literature.I want to know what do you think about Chinese Literature.That is really important for me.I hope you could give me a hand.

[Virgil]

Joy, first let me welcome you to lit net. I hope you will enjoy it here. As to your question, I am afraid I know so little of Chinese literature that I couldn't possibly comment. I wish I knew more.

[Whifflingpin]

"what do you think about Chinese Literature?"

I believe that Chinese literature is scarcely known in the West.

"The Art of War" by Sun Tzu is currently enjoying a spell of popularity.
The Thoughts of Chairman Mao have been widely read, but probably more so in the 1960s and 1970s than now.

Neither of these books are what I would think of as truly "Chinese literature." That, surely, is a term that belongs to the poets, like Tu Fu or Li Tai Po. But I know only their names, not their poems, and I think their poetry is known only to a few scholars.

(Some of Tu Fu's poetry may be found in translation here : http://www.lingshidao.com/hanshi/dufu.htm )

[EAP]

Romance of the Three Kingdom was immensely boring.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was a highly entertaining read.

That's it, basically.

[joynone]

Joy, first let me welcome you to lit net. I hope you will enjoy it here. As to your question, I am afraid I know so little of Chinese literature that I couldn't possibly comment. I wish I knew more.

well,I will let you know more and you will love it.

[joynone]

"what do you think about Chinese Literature?"

I believe that Chinese literature is scarcely known in the West.

"The Art of War" by Sun Tzu is currently enjoying a spell of popularity.
The Thoughts of Chairman Mao have been widely read, but probably more so in the 1960s and 1970s than now.

Neither of these books are what I would think of as truly "Chinese literature." That, surely, is a term that belongs to the poets, like Tu Fu or Li Tai Po. But I know only their names, not their poems, and I think their poetry is known only to a few scholars.

(Some of Tu Fu's poetry may be found in translation here : http://www.lingshidao.com/hanshi/dufu.htm )

They are not literature but philosophy!

[joynone]

Romance of the Three Kingdom was immensely boring.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was a highly entertaining read.

That's it, basically.

I watched film,Crouching Tiger,Hidden Dragon

And Romance of the three Kingdom is loved by nearly every Chinese people.

[stlukesguild]

Although I do have a rather broad taste in literature I must admit to having little experience of Chinese literature or Eastern literature in general. A major reason for this is the fact that I have come across little Chinese/Eastern literature that has been well-translated... translated into something I would want to read in English. The problem is likely due to the fact that one usually needs to be a reasonably good writer in one's native language (English, for example) before one might think of becoming a translator. Few such writers have the required mastery of the Chinese language (as opposed to French, Italian, Spanish, German, or other European/Western languages). I have enjoyed some translations (mostly of the poets such as Li Po, Tu Fu, Li Ch'ing Chao, etc...) made by Kenneth Rexroth, Arthur Waley, David Young, and Lafcadio Hearn. I am aware, however, that I have little access (outside of dry, academic translations of little literary value made by scholars) to an entire world of literature. I currently share a studio (art) space with a Chinese artist who has discussed Chinese literature and some of the key works with me... but he agrees that there is but a shameful small portion of Chinese literature that has been well-translated into English.

[AnnaJuan]

Romance of the Three Kingdom was immensely boring.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was a highly entertaining read.

That's it, basically.


you are not knowing much about chinese literature.. :D
Romance of the Three Kingdom, for me, the tv series were very good. I loved it! :D but, the book, :sick: aha, just because it was written in ancient Chinese

actually there were a lot of great writers in the 20th century. such as Lu Xun
I love Lu Xun and his works! :D :thumbs_up
and more...

[EAP]

True, I know jack**** about chinese literature. Perhaps you'd like to recommend a few titles? :)

[byquist]

Chinese and Japanese, A+.

Here's Feng Chih's, Anglo translation:

To A Litter of Pups

For half a month rain continued to fall.
Ever since you were born
You had known only damp and melancholy
Then one day the rain clouds suddenly dispersed,

Sunrays illumined the walls,
And I saw your mother
Carry you into the sunlight
And let you submit your bodies

For the first time to the sunrays' warmth,
Until the sun sank, and she
Carried you back again. You don't have

A memory, but this experience
Will fuse into the sound of barking,
And you, deep at night, will bark forth the light.

trans. Jeannette Faurot

Not bad, eh?

[Jean-Baptiste]

I don't know much about Chinese literature. I do know that some of my favorite Western writers have been greatly influenced by it--Chinese poetry particularly. Gary Snyder, my favorite of the Beat poets made a great effort to emmulate the style of Chinese poetry. And Ezra Pound founded his Imagist movement on the techniques of Chinese poetry. His poem In a Station of the Metro was a direct attempt at Chinese style.

I've also read various translations of Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching, some of which I found to be the most blazing and beautiful examples of brilliance I've ever encountered.

I've read Pearl S. Buck's The Good Earth, though I know it was written in English. I liked it very much; I liked the somewhat stilted sentence structures--very direct and concise. Could you comment on the syle of her writing and how it might compare to an original Chinese work?

[Virgil]

I've read Pearl S. Buck's The Good Earth, though I know it was written in English. I liked it very much; I liked the somewhat stilted sentence structures--very direct and concise. Could you comment on the syle of her writing and how it might compare to an original Chinese work?

Was that originally written in Chinese? If so, I didn't know that.

[Jean-Baptiste]

I believe she was technically considered an American author. She was Born in West Virginia, raised in China, and English was her second language--but I believe she wrote primarily in English. I'm quite certain that The Good Earth is not a translation.

[omegaxx]

My opinion probably won't matter that much, being Chinese after all. However, having read a decent amount in both Chinese and English, I can tell you what I think.

It is much more difficult for someone who speaks English to appreciate Chinese literature without quite a knowledge of 1) the language and 2) the culture, much more so than if he were to appreciate, say, French or Russian literature.

It's much easier to translate between, say, French and English because:

1) the languages have much in common; Even without the Norman Conquest and assimilation of the English tongue, I think we can agree that English and French (and all Western languages) share some sort of alphabet, grammatical system, and entymology (Greek and Latin). Chinese is a completely different system. Scientific studies have shown that reading in English/French/Italian/Russian/alphabet languages actually employ different regions of the brain as opposed to reading in Chinese/Japanese/non-alphabet languages. This makes any type of translation poor and inadequate. I've read translations of very famous Tang poems without recognizing them. It was just completely DIFFERENT reading them in English. Likewise, I cannot stand reading English poems in Chinese: somehow their meanings are completely warped.

2) Western languages, or languages originating in Europe, have some sort of common cultural currency, i.e., the heritage of the Greeks/Romans and the Judeo-Christian tradition. A completely different set of cultural currency is required to understand Chinese literature. The metaphysics, ethics, and history of China has just been so separate from that of the West for three millennia that to draw any point of similiarity is very difficult. A simple noun, say flower or rain, draws completely different images in my mind and evokes completely different feelings in me, depending on whether I say it in English or Chinese.

I suppose my underlying assumption is that art cannot exist outside a cultural/historical framework. Hence it is impossible to understand literature in another language without mastering its language and its culture. Sadly, I haven't always been consistent. Having read Homer only in English translations, I have probably misread it in the most grotesque ways possible. It's probably easier to read stuff written in Chinese in the 20th century, I imagine. Lu Xun and Eileen Chang, for instance, would come through fairly unscathed in translation.

[Jean-Baptiste]

Certainly, your opinion will matter. That's a very interesting perspective you bring.


A simple noun, say flower or rain, draws completely different images in my mind and evokes completely different feelings in me, depending on whether I say it in English or Chinese.
That seems like a dreadful mental schism, but I'm sure it's not a terrifying as I'm imagining.


I suppose my underlying assumption is that art cannot exist outside a cultural/historical framework.
Yes! That's what I've been trying to say in the Art for Art's sake (http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20894) discussion.

[Virgil]

That is a very fascinating post you have there Omega. Very thought provoking. I'm not sure yet with which I agree and with which I might disagree.