THE SELECTED POEMS OF TU FU. Translated by David Hinton. 173 pp. New York : New Directions, 1989, and Reissued.Tu Fu (712-790) was one of Chinas greatest poets, and the present book, after a brief 9-page Introduction, gives us a comprehensive selection of his poems, arranged chronologically, annotated, and in adequate translations of varying degrees of success.
Here is an example of Hintons style, the first four lines of an eight-line poem, selected at random from the poem Skies Clear at Dusk (and with my obliques added to indicate line breaks) :
"Dusks failing flare breaks out. Clouds / Thin and drift - none return. Distant, / Bright, a rainbow drinks at the river. / Rain in the gorge falls - remnants scatter" (p.78).
Tu Fu is not an easy poet to translate, and readers with access to David Hawkes bilingual edition of Tu Fu, or to A. C. Grahams Poems of the Late Tang, might find it interesting to compare Hintons approach with theirs.
His book, which also includes a useful 17-page Biography which is keyed to the poems, quite full Notes, a Finding List, a Bibliography, and an Index of Titles and First Lines, would make a handy introduction for anyone new to Tu Fu.
But if, after reading it, youd really like to discover what lies behind Tu Fus poetry, and learn something of how his poetry works, you might take a look at the excellent bilingual anthology by Wai-lim Yip which contains a detailed treatment of a number of Tu Fus poems. Details are as follows :
CHINESE POETRY : An Anthology of Major Modes and Genres. Edited and translated by Wai-lim Yip. 358 pp. Durham NC and London : Duke University Press, 1997. ISBN 0-8223-1951-9 (pbk.)
A handy introduction for newcomers to Tu Fu.
This classic belongs on every poets book shelf.