What I do here
My name’s Phil, and I’m a translator and teacher. I translate Tang poetry because it’s one of the world’s great literatures, but it’s criminally under-represented in English. Most poems have never been translated. A large body of famous poems have only been translated two or three times. And even for the few that have been translated more - classics from Wang Wei or Du Fu - we’re still in the low dozens of English versions. Dozens might sound like a lot, but there are hundreds and thousands of English Dantes and Homers out there. It takes that level of sustained examination, translation and retranslation, to get to the essence of a piece of literature. Every translation is a refraction of certain aspects of the original. We need hundreds of people to apply their minds to the problem of, what is this poet saying?
My particular angle is that I translate Tang poems into English verse. Tang poetry rhymes and scans, but the vast majority of translations into English don’t, and something is lost along the way. Many Tang poems (the ones that were selected by editors for their lasting quality) have the feel of nursery rhymes for adults. They have an insistent rhythm and music that lingers in the ear (your basic Tang quatrain is eight bars of common time - a rhythm that everyone on the planet can feel in their bones). But the emotions and ideas expressed are complex, layered, and indirect. For the best poems, that contrast of a bright, swinging rhythm and deep, swirling emotions is the core of what makes them memorable. By translating the poems into what I hope are memorable English verse lines, I want to start the process of English readers understanding Tang poetry on this level.
I've also started using this blog to post my thoughts on other topics, so if you have any interest in those, you can look under the other sections.
Index of poems
Bai Juyi 白居易
A Poem on 'Parting on an Ancient Steppe' from the Songs of Chu 赋得古原草送别
Cen Shen 岑参
Climbing the Tower at the Temple of Blessings with Gao Shi and Xue Jue 与高适薛据登慈恩寺浮图
Chang Jian 常建
Failing the Examinations in Chang’an 落第长安
A Night at the Cottage Where Wang Changling Stayed When He Retired for the First Time 宿王昌龄隐居
Chen Shubao 陈叔宝
Jade Trees and Flowers in the Harem 玉树后庭花
Chen Tao 陈陶
Chu Guangxi 储光羲
Climbing the Tower with Friends at the Temple of Blessings 同诸公登慈恩寺塔
Cui Hao 崔颢
Dai Shulun 戴叔伦
Du Fu 杜甫
A View of the Sacred Mountain 望岳
A Visit by Esteemed Personages (with Wine) After I Fall Off My Horse, Drunk 醉为马坠， 诸公携酒相看
Five Songs Inspired by Historic Sites (1) 咏怀古迹五首·其一
Five Songs Inspired by Historic Sites (2) 咏怀古迹五首·其二
To Leave a Home That Isn’t There 无家别
The Wind Destroys my Cottage Roof 茅屋为秋风所破歌
The Ballad of the Army Carts 兵车行
Climbing the Tower with Friends at the Temple of Blessings 同诸公登慈恩寺塔
Six Short Poems (1) (The sun rises) 绝句六首·其一（日出篱东水）
Six Short Poems (2) (Resplendent) 绝句六首·其二（蔼蔼花蕊乱）
Six Short Poems (3) (A well) 绝句六首·其三（凿井交棕叶）
Six Short Poems (4) (A sudden rain) 绝句六首·其四（急雨捎溪足）
Six Short Poems (5) (The bamboo shoots) 绝句六首·其五（舍下笋穿壁）
Six Short Poems (6) (The river) 绝句六首·其六（江动月移石）
Four Short Poems (About my New Cottage) No. 2 (nervousness) 绝句四首·其二（欲作鱼梁云复湍）
Four Short Poems (About my New Cottage) No. 4 (uncertainty) 绝句四首·其四（药条药甲润青青）
Four Short Poems (About my New Cottage) No. 1 (delight) 绝句四首·其一（堂西长笋别开门）
Four Short Poems (About my New Cottage) No. 3 (ownership) 绝句四首·其三（两个黄鹂鸣翠柳）
Du Mu 杜牧
Du Qiu 杜秋（杜秋娘）
Du Xunhe 杜荀鹤
Even In Spring, the Palace Women Weep at their Mirrors 春宫怨
Gao Shi 高适
A Vision of Spring on my Farm 田家春望
Climbing the Tower with Friends at the Temple of Blessings 同诸公登慈恩寺浮图
Farewell to Dong Tinglan (1) 别董大二首·其一
Farewell to Dong Tinglan (2) 别董大二首·其二
Han Wo 韩偓
Han Yu 韩愈
He Zhizhang 贺知章
Lines on Returning to My Hometown (1) 回乡偶书·其一
Lines on Returning to My Hometown (2) 回乡偶书·其二
Hu Zeng 胡曾
Huang Fuzeng 皇甫曾
The Brook Flows Out of the Mountains 山下泉
Li Bai 李白
Drinking Alone in the Moonlight (1) 月下独酌·其一
Drinking Alone in the Moonlight (2) 月下独酌·其二
Drinking Alone in the Moonlight (3) 月下独酌·其三
Drinking Alone in the Moonlight (4) 月下独酌·其四
A Night in a Mountain Temple 夜宿山寺
Sitting Alone with Mt Jingting 独坐敬亭山
Phoenix Podium in Jinling 登金陵凤凰台
To the tune of Reproach on Jade Steps 玉阶怨
Ballad of Changgan (1) 长干行二首·其一
Song of the Maestro of Fufeng 扶风豪士歌
A Hard Road to Walk (1) 行路难·其一
A Hard Road to Walk (2) 行路难·其二
A Hard Road to Walk (3) 行路难·其三
Li Duan 李端
A Performance on the Zheng Harp 听筝
Li He 李贺
Li Pin 李频
A Vision of Spring at the Leyou Gardens 乐游原春望
Li Qi 李颀
Dong Tinglan Plays Eighteen Songs for a Nomad Flute: A Song for Supervising Secretary Fang 听董大弹胡笳声兼语弄寄房给事
Listening to An Wanshan Play the Bili Flute 听安万善吹觱篥歌
Li Shangyin 李商隐
A Palace of the Short-lived Sui Dynasty 隋宫
Liu Changqing 刘长卿
The Departure of the Monk Clear Spirit 送灵撤
A Parting Poem for a Monk 送方外上人
Liu Deren 刘得仁
A Vision of Spring from the Leyou Pleasure Gardens 乐游原春望
Liu Xiaowei 刘孝威
Liu Yun 柳恽
Liu Yuxi 刘禹锡
A Spring Song, Following Bai Juyi 和乐天春词
Liu Zongyuan 柳宗元
A Hard Road to Walk (1) 行道难三首·其一
A Hard Road to Walk (2): Pillars of the Nation 行道难三首·其二
A Hard Road to Walk (3): Time Brings All Things Low 行道难三首·其三
Lu Lun 卢纶
Songs from Outside the Line (1) 塞下曲·其一
Songs from Outside the Line (2) 塞下曲·其二
Songs from Outside the Line (3) 塞下曲·其三
Songs from Outside the Line (4) 塞下曲·其四
Songs from Outside the Line (5) 塞下曲·其五
Songs from Outside the Line (6) 塞下曲·其六
Luo Binwang 骆宾王
Song of the Cicada from a Chang'an Jail (poem and introduction) 在狱咏蝉（并序）
Meng Haoran 孟浩然
Goodbye to Attendant Censor Wang Wei 留别王侍御维
To My Friend Zhang Five, When I Climbed Mt Lan in the Autumn 秋登兰山寄张五
Meng Jiao 孟郊
Pei Di 裴迪
Sung to Cui Di as He Rode Away to Far South Hill 崔九欲往南山马上口号与别
Qian Qi 钱起
Shen Quanqi 沈佺期
Song Zhiwen 宋之问
Tao Hongjing 陶弘景
A Poem in Reply to a Royal Letter Enquiring What There Is in the Mountains 诏问山中何所有赋诗以答
Wang Changling 王昌龄
Picking Water Lilies (1) 采莲曲二首·其一
Picking Water Lilies (2) 采莲曲二首·其二
Wang Wei 王维
Wang River Collection (1) The Dip by Meng Wall 辋川集（一）孟城坳
Wang River Collection (2) Glory Ridge 辋川集（二）华子冈
Wang River Collection (3) Pavilion of Rich-grained Apricot Wood 辋川集（三）文杏馆
Wang River Collection (4) Bamboo Loggers' Forest 辋川集（四）斤竹岭
Wang River Collection (5) Deer Grove 辋川集（五）鹿寨
Wang River Collection (6) Magnolia Grove 辋川集（六）木兰柴
Wang River Collection (7) Dogwood by a Stream 辋川集（七）茱萸沜
Wang River Collection (8) Scholar Tree Avenue 辋川集（八）宫槐陌
Wang River Collection (9) Lakeside Gazebo 辋川集（九）临湖亭
Wang River Collection (10) Lakeside South Mound 辋川集（十）南岔
Wang River Collection (11) Lake Qi 辋川集（十一）欹湖
Wang River Collection (12) Willow Waves 辋川集（十二）柳浪
Wang River Collection (13) Rapids by the Luan Farm 辋川集（十三）栾家濑
Wang River Collection (14) Gold Dust Spring 辋川集（十四）金屑泉
Wang River Collection (15) White Boulder Shallows 辋川集（十五）白石滩
Wang River Collection (16) Lakeside North Mound 辋川集（十六）北垞
Wang River Collection (17) Cabin in the Bamboo 辋川集（十七）竹里馆
Wang River Collection (18) Magnolia Hollow 辋川集（十八）辛夷坞
Wang River Collection (19) The Lacquer Plantation 辋川集（十九）漆园
Wang River Collection (20) Pepper Orchard 辋川集（二十）椒园
A Reply to District Defender Zhang 酬张少府
Days of Rain, a Poem at the Wang River Estate 积雨辋川庄作
Wang Xun 王训
Wei Yingwu 韦应物
A Letter to Secretary Yuan as I Depart from Yangtze Ford 初发扬子寄元大校书
To the Daoist Hermit in the Quanjiao Hills 寄全椒山中道士
Wei Zhuang 韦庄
Taicheng, Centre of Power for Six Nations 台城
Wu Yuanheng 武元恒
Empress Wu Zetian
Xi Bi Ren/Your Humble Servant in the West 西鄙人
Emperor Xuanzong of Tang 唐玄宗
Sombre Thoughts at the Sacrifices to Confucius as I Pass through Lu 经邹鲁祭孔子而叹之
Xue Feng 薛逢
Yang Juyuan 杨巨源
Yang Yuhuan 杨玉环
For the Dancer Zhang Yunrong 赠张云容舞
Yuan Zhen 元稹
Zhang Hu 张祜
Zhang Ji 张继
Mooring at Maple Bridge in the Night 枫桥夜泊
Zhang Jiuling 张九龄
Zhu Qingyu 朱庆馀
To Zhang Ji of the Water Ministry, Before the Examinations 近试上张籍水部
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