{"id":5208,"date":"2023-08-04T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-08-04T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?p=5208"},"modified":"2023-08-02T09:55:09","modified_gmt":"2023-08-02T16:55:09","slug":"three-poems-by-yu-xuanji-in-ancient-exchanges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?p=5208","title":{"rendered":"Three Poems by Yu Xuanji in Ancient Exchanges"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The new issue of Ancient Exchanges<\/a><\/em>, “Threads,” is now live, and with it three translations of mine of poetry by Yu Xuanji \u9b5a\u7384\u6a5f <\/a>(840\u2013868).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

The shape of water conforms to its container: we know it is indeterminate.
Clouds drift with no intent. Will they ever come back?
Despondent spring winds over the Chu river tonight,
one mandarin duck flies away from its flock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u6c34\u67d4\u9010\u5668\u77e5\u96e3\u5b9a<\/em>
\u96f2\u51fa\u7121\u5fc3\u80af\u518d\u6b78<\/em>
\u60c6\u60b5\u6625\u98a8\u695a\u6c5f\u66ae<\/em>
\u9d1b\u9d26\u4e00\u96bb\u5931\u7fa4\u98db<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

And a shot across the bow in my “Translator’s Note,” too:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

In my eyes, contemporary English translations of classical Chinese poetry tend to fall between two extremes\u2014with scholarly translators prizing philological accuracy and sometimes even taking a perverse pride in not letting their writing be informed by conventions of contemporary Anglophone poetry, while more creative attempts at experimentation often fall short of that goal \u2026 Scholarly and literary audiences do not have to be at odds: both are looking for precision of image together with compelling, and compellingly fresh, phrasing.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Follow the links to read the pieces.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The new issue of Ancient Exchanges, “Threads,” is now live, and with it three translations of mine of poetry by Yu Xuanji \u9b5a\u7384\u6a5f (840\u2013868). The shape of water conforms to its container: we know it is indeterminate.Clouds drift with no … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[12],"tags":[1236],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8srwF-1m0","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5212,"url":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?p=5212","url_meta":{"origin":5208,"position":0},"title":"Yu Xuanji in Poetry Magazine","author":"Lucas Klein","date":"August 8, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"After posting about my Yu Xuanji translations of Yu Xuanji \u9b5a\u7384\u6a5f (840\u2013868) in the new issue of Ancient Exchanges, I realized that I had neglected to announce my Yu Xuanji translation in the \"Make it Old\" issue of Poetry Magazine, last May (2022)! Chewing ice and eating bark, wishes unfulfilled,Jin\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Publications"","block_context":{"text":"Publications","link":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?cat=12"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/media.poetryfoundation.org\/uploads\/media\/cache\/default\/0001\/25\/ed97b7e3cd93ec1eee6fed0dca83d85a3b1a63f4.jpg\/dc865dd92ad6d8e96accefa9655559aa","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2173,"url":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?p=2173","url_meta":{"origin":5208,"position":1},"title":"Yu Xiang reviewed on Words Without Borders","author":"Lucas Klein","date":"August 29, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"I Can Almost See the Clouds of Dust, the new poetry collection by Yu Xiang \u5b87\u5411 translated by Fiona Sze-Lorrain, has been reviewed on Words Without Borders by\u00a0Naomi Long Eagleson. Here's how it begins: Yu Xiang\u2019s poems are the poetic equivalent of shoegazer rock. 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In a land where poetry has been devalued beyond zero, isn\u2019t\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Links"","block_context":{"text":"Links","link":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?cat=3"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/joelinker.files.wordpress.com\/2014\/01\/img_1954.jpg?w=350&h=200&crop=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4438,"url":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?p=4438","url_meta":{"origin":5208,"position":3},"title":"Haysom on translating Yu Yoyo","author":"Lucas Klein","date":"January 21, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Dave Haysom talks about his upcoming collaboration translating Chinese poet Yu Yoyo \u4f59\u5e7c\u5e7c with A K Blakemore. https:\/\/twitter.com\/i\/status\/1083440761486655488","rel":"","context":"In "Videos"","block_context":{"text":"Videos","link":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?cat=11"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3705,"url":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?p=3705","url_meta":{"origin":5208,"position":4},"title":"Yu Xiuhua Documentary Still Tomorrow Trailer","author":"Lucas Klein","date":"April 28, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Still Tomorrow \u6447\u6447\u6643\u6643\u7684\u4eba\u95f4 a documentary about the life and work of Yu Xiuhua \u4f59\u79c0\u534e directed by Fan Jian \u8303\u4fed https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Wq3iN2P4toI&feature=youtu.be","rel":"","context":"In "Links"","block_context":{"text":"Links","link":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?cat=3"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/Wq3iN2P4toI\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2623,"url":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?p=2623","url_meta":{"origin":5208,"position":5},"title":"Cutbank Reviews on Yu Xiang","author":"Lucas Klein","date":"May 21, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Christina Cook of Cutbank Reviews has reviewed Yu Xiang's \u5b87\u5411 I Can Almost See the Clouds of Dust \u6211\u51e0\u4e4e\u770b\u5230\u6eda\u6eda\u5c18\u57c3, translated by Fiona Sze-Lorrain. 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