Overview

Bathed with the blood and tears of countless poets and authors and naturally expressing the most heartfelt emotions of ancient peoples, poems of mourning and texts of lament stand out in classical Chinese literature as brilliant and unique. Composed and celebrated over 3000 years, they are central to the Chinese literary tradition but have been largely unknown to English readers. Including over 100 major pieces by leading literary figures from 800 BCE – 1800, this is the first English anthology of classic Chinese poems of mourning and texts of sacrificial offering. With annotated translations by leading scholars and reading guides accompanying each piece, this book reveals a powerful literary heritage to students and serious readers of Chinese literature, history and civilization.

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9781350337206

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Mair and Zhang offer here the first study of traditional Chinese poems of mourning and prose laments of the dead. The 120 selections have been carefully chosen and accurately rendered by some of the best translators in the field. The book will appeal to students of Chinese literature and religion, among others. * William H. Nienhauser, Jr., University of Wisconsin, USA *

Mair and Zhang offer here the first study of traditional Chinese poems of mourning and prose laments of the dead. The 120 selections have been carefully chosen and accurately rendered by some of the best translators in the field. The book will appeal to students of Chinese literature and religion, among others. * William H. Nienhauser, Jr., University of Wisconsin, USA * A generous sampling from the vast body of efforts to find the right words to convey deep grief. In a variety of literary forms, writers here mourn the deaths of loved ones, show respect for lost friends and colleagues, and lament historical figures and ruined sites that are no more. Unprecedented in scope, this singular collection conveys the profound feelings of mourning, yearning, and even anguish over personal loss by many of China’s finest writers of nearly three millennia. This collection allows a deep understanding of what moved these many writers most profoundly and how they struggled to verbalize their emotions. * Robert E. Hegel, Washington University in St. Louis, USA *

Author Information

Victor H. Mair is Professor of Chinese Language and Literature at the University of Pennsylvania, USA. He is the co-editor of Ming Dynasty Tales: A Guided Reader (Bloomsbury, 2022). Zhenjun Zhang is Professor and Coordinator of Asian Studies Program at St. Lawrence University, USA. He is the co-editor of Ming Dynasty Tales: A Guided Reader (Bloomsbury, 2022).

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