Waley’s second book of translations, published in 1919, arranges poems and prose chronologically, from Ch’ü Yüan’s “The Great Summons” through Wang Wei’s letter and Li Po drinking alone by moonlight. Half the book goes to Po Chü-i, with a short life of the poet and his verses on examinations, friendship, exile, old age and the household he must dispense with.
Translations that shaped how English readers hear Chinese poetry, unadorned and quietly moving. Download the free EPUB.