Guide to Capturing a Plum Blossom

Rating:
Summary: Exquisite.
Review: Bill Porter is a devout Buddhist and one of the most outstanding translators of Buddhist classics into English since Arthur Waley. This is a translation, not only of some of the Sung Dynasty's most elegant poems, but also of the first known art book-- yes, it predates Gutenberg by hundreds of years and yes, it contains woodcuts-- of which only one actual copy exists; it is the original from which the Bill Porter worked, housed in a museum in Shanghai. The verses are sublime. The tranlation is incomparably faithful and elegant. The signifigance of this work cannot be overestimated. All sinophiles and students of the language should own this one!

Rating:
Summary: Exquisite.
Review: Bill Porter is a devout Buddhist and one of the most outstanding translators of Buddhist classics into English since Arthur Waley. This is a translation, not only of some of the Sung Dynasty's most elegant poems, but also of the first known art book-- yes, it predates Gutenberg by hundreds of years and yes, it contains woodcuts-- of which only one actual copy exists; it is the original from which the Bill Porter worked, housed in a museum in Shanghai. The verses are sublime. The tranlation is incomparably faithful and elegant. The signifigance of this work cannot be overestimated. All sinophiles and students of the language should own this one!

Rating:
Summary: The Visionary Details
Review: Imagine making the micro-stages of a plum blossom's growth the basis of a startling series of nature poems. But this is what Po-Jen Sung manages to do, and Red Pine's translation seems elegent and luminous and baffling in all the right places. The poet is never at a loss for the perfect image. He is intuitive and always flowing with the spirit of the inner details. This is visionary poetry at its best -- and the woodcuts of each of the flower's stages are incomparable. A must read. Thanks to Red Pine for this deeply moving work.