Fir-Flower Tablets: Poems Translated from the Chinese

by Florence Wheelock Ayscough, Amy Lowell

Excerpt from Fir-Flower Tablets: Poems Translated From the Chinese

The Palace Woman and the Soldiers' Cook A Beautiful Women Encountered on a field-path.

Genres: Poetry

349 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1921

Reviews

[J · Rating 5 out of 5]

So beautiful that I found them difficult to read.
This translation process might have been odd, I don't know that I could say, but the lengthy introduction was detailed and interesting. Find the collection here - //archive.org/stream/firflowertablet00l...

[Robert H. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This work was published in 1921 and is in the public domain. If you'd like to see a digital copy of the book, tap on this link: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/48222.... I decided to buy the paper version reproduction of the book which I find easier to read and reference.

Fir-Flower Tablets is a collection of classical Chinese poetry and written pictures that have been literally translated from Mandarin by Florence Wheelock Ayscough, who was born in Shanghai and lived there for many years. The translations were then set to verse by the poet Amy Lowell, whose work I first came into contact some years ago while I was doing research on the imagist movement.

The introduction to the collection, written by Ms. Ayscough, contains a summary of the various dynastic periods in Chinese history; a map of historical place names (best to access the map digitally at the link above); a key to the symbolic importance of various references to nature - flowers, trees, and birds; a guide to place names; a handy crash course on Chinese poetry with biographical information on some of the key poets whose poems are prominently featured, namely Li T'ai-po and Tu Fu who were two of the most respected poets (who were also friends) working during the T'ang Dynasty; and a meticulous section of useful notes on many of the poems.

Most of the poems are beautifully rendered into English, and I would like to think that they retain the essence of the meaning or purpose of the original poems. The poems address themes such as traveling, grief, friendship, rituals, and reverence for nature, with particular attention to mountains and rivers where most of the poems are set. In Lowell's translation to western-style poetic conventions, the poems contain some examples of simile, assonance, and alliteration, though not many rhymes, in part due to the fact that Chinese rhyme is based on tone.

[Wang Weiwei · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite some mistranslations of the original Chinese text, the translated poems are surprisingly enjoyable to read. Definitely a work of art.