Book #37

Three Tang Dynasty Poets

Pastoral, lyrical verse evoking the rural landscapes and peoples of eight-century China, from three of its finest poets.

I've never been a lover of poetry, and its meanings often escape me. This will be a short and uneducated review.

The collection is comprised of works from three of China's finest poets of the eighth-century Tang Dynasty era. The first, Wang Wei, beautifully describes nature in his poetry, and shows us blue mountains, green streams, and the peacefulness of fishermen taking sanctuary in the living world. The second, Li Po, tells us of his sorrows in being away from his wife and children for a long period of time. The third, Tu Fu, speaks of war, violence, and coming home to see his family broken by the conflict.

I liked the poems, found them beautiful, and was intrigued by the entirely different culture of eighth-century China. Despite this, I couldn't help but feel, as an ignorant Westerner, that I was missing something. Whether this is down my own lack of knowledge, or something lost in translation, I'm unsure.