Three Chinese Poets

Three Chinese Poets

by Vikram Seth
review by E.A. Lombardi

Guide Rating -

In this slim volume, Vikram Seth offers translations for three eighth-century Chinese poets: Wang Wei, Li Bai (or Li Po), and Du Fu (or Tu Fu).

Seth's aim in creating these translations is to be consistent to the form and language of the Chinese poets, not focusing as much on the poetic flow of the lines. To explain the focus of his translations, he discusses the translations Ezra Pound, with his "ignorance of Chinese and valiant self-indulgence," which he sees as a "warning of what to shun." He says, "I have tried not to compromise the meaning of the actual words of the poems, though I have often failed."

The Poets

All three poets lived during the same period of time, when the T'ang dynasty was in power, with rebellion and economic upheaval making all of their lives difficult. Of the three, Wang Wei and Li Bai were able to survive with relative ease, finding court appointments or wandering through the country. Du Fu was rather unsuccessful in all of his endeavors. Du Fu failed his examinations, which would have landed him a post with the court. He was forced to live apart from his family, because he could not afford to keep them with him in the capital, and one of his children died of starvation when the rebellion first broke out.

Living through the same days of eighth-century China, these three poets saw life in dramatically different ways: "Wang Wei as Buddhist recluse, Li Bai as Taoist immortal and Du Fu as Confucian sage."

During their lifetimes, both Wang Wei and Li Bai were widely recognized for their talents, while Du Fu wasn't recognized until more recent times (even though his grandfather was a famous poet). Perhaps because of his many failures, Du Fu also saw life and nature in very different ways. As Seth says, "He sees nature not as retreat or drama but as an emotional or moral entity set in juxtaposition to human life and human events, whether in sympathy or in antipathy." Perhaps, in his many failures, Du Fu understood humanity in a different way from his contemporaries. He experienced many griefs.

In the end, this volume offers more than just "limited access to the worlds of these poems." In the end, these poems offer a look at the beauty, loneliness, anguish, and hope of three men. They offer us all an unforgettable look into their lives. Li Bai wrote that "we'll dissolve the sorrows of a hundred centuries" with wine. Wang Wei writes, "I've failed you in more ways than one. / Weeping, I walk back to my gate." And, Du Fu writes: "The pain of death's farewells grows dim /... Still hoping for your face, I stare."

Of course the poems are not all tragedy. Singing, laughter, and other happy memories also have their places in the poetry. Wang Wei writes, "we talk / And laugh, and I don't think of going back." For Li Bai, drinking can also mean playing with the moonglow. In "Question and Answer in the Mountains," Li Bai writes, "They ask me why I live in the green mountains. / I smile and don't reply: my heart's at ease." And, in "Spring Scene in Time of War," Du Fu writes of "Spring in the city." With a bittersweet feel, he writes, "A word from home is worth a ton of gold."

As Robert Louis Stevenson once wrote:

"The man is a success who has lived well, laughed often, and loved much; who has gained the respect of intelligent men and the love of children; who has filled his niche and accomplished his task; who leaves the world better than he found it, whether by an improved poppy, a perfect poem, or a rescued soul; who never lacked appreciation of earth's beauty or failed to express it; who looked for the best in others and gave the best he had."