Evoking Tang: An Anthology of Classical Chinese Poetry
Mona Van Duyn, U.S. Poet Laureate, 1992-1993: Qiu Xiaolong is extravagantly qualified for translating these poems, having as a citizen of China won prizes for his own poetry and for translating T.S. Eliot and other English and American poets into Chinese and, more recently, as a citizen of the U.S., won prizes for his own poetry and fiction in English. To my mind, the "Changgan Song" in this collection rivals Ezra Pound's justly famous, loosely translated version, "The River Merchant's Wife." These renderings have a limpidity of language and metaphor and a subtle rhythm,and Qiu has a poet's sixth sense for when (occasionally) to lift the line with a less direct and more evocative word. Beata Grant, Professor of Chinese Literature, Washington University in St. Louis: Qiu Xiaolong is one of the few translators of Chinese poetry whose native language is Chinese but whose mastery of the subtle nuances of the English language are truly extraordinary. A published poet and acclaimed author of a series of mystery novels set in modern-day China written in English, he is eminently qualified to bring these ancient poems to life yet again. Qiu Xiaolong's lucid and graceful translations of a selection of Tang poems, among them many well-known favorites and some less familiar ones, are a most welcome addition to world literature in translation.