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Cathay: Translations and Transformations
Heinz Insu Fenkl's Cathay is a complex interweaving of fiction, translation, scholarship, and transformative writing. It includes new translations of the three luminaries of Tang Dynasty poetry: Li Po, Tu Fu, and Wang Wei—but that is only to whet the appetite. The volume also features the opening of the seventeenth-century Korean Buddhist classic Nine Cloud Dream by Kim Man-jung, an emulation of a horrific yet transcendent Tang Dynasty chuanji ("strange tale"), a magical, and yet postcolonial revisioning of Hans Christian Andersen's nineteenth-century fairytale, "The Nightingale," and the enchanting story of the Shakyamuni Buddha's conception and birth. The scope and depth of Fenkl's achievement are astonishing. A simultaneous tribute to and criticism of Ezra Pound's history-making 1915 chapbook of the same title, Fenkl's Cathay is destined to be an instant literary classic.
Kim Man-jung
Li Po
Su Tung-p'o
Tu Fu
Wang Wei
Wei Chuang
Kim Man-jung
Li Po
Su Tung-p'o
Tu Fu
Wang Wei
Wei Chuang
Paperback
First published August 31, 2007
5 people want to read
About the author
Heinz Insu Fenkl
37 books50 followersHeinz Insu Fenkl, born in 1960 in Bupyeong, Korea, is a novelist, translator, and editor. Fenkl is a professor of English and the director of the Interstitial Studies Institute at SUNY New Paltz.
His autobiographical novel, Memories of My Ghost Brother, was named a Barnes & Noble "Discover Great New Writers" selection in 1996 and a PEN/Hemingway Award finalist in 1997, and his prose translation, Yi Mun-yol's short story, "An Anonymous Island," was published in the The New Yorker—the first Korean fiction to appear in that publication. Fenkl was guest editor for the special section on North Korea in the journal AZALEA, published by Harvard's Korea Institute. His translation of the classic 17th-century Korean Buddhist novel The Nine Cloud Dream by Kim Man-jung (Penguin Classics) was published in 2019.
His autobiographical novel, Memories of My Ghost Brother, was named a Barnes & Noble "Discover Great New Writers" selection in 1996 and a PEN/Hemingway Award finalist in 1997, and his prose translation, Yi Mun-yol's short story, "An Anonymous Island," was published in the The New Yorker—the first Korean fiction to appear in that publication. Fenkl was guest editor for the special section on North Korea in the journal AZALEA, published by Harvard's Korea Institute. His translation of the classic 17th-century Korean Buddhist novel The Nine Cloud Dream by Kim Man-jung (Penguin Classics) was published in 2019.
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March 7, 2022
Summary
Cathay is a collection of poems and stories. They are a work of fiction, translation, scholarship, and transformative writing, weaved together by renowned author, editor, translator, and folklorist, Heinz Insu Fenkl. The book contains five poems and four short stories by Chinese poets of the Tang Dynasty and Song Era, and a Korean novelist of the Joseon period.
Review
As a woman who is neither white nor black, I have always been more fascinated with other Asian culture because of the distinct texture they carry in the world of literature. There’s always that feeling of excitement from gaining wisdom and understanding the culture differences. Ironically, for me, Korean and Chinese historical works provide a fresh viewpoint because though they’re somewhat familiar, they’re completely different from my world. Hence, the feelings invoked in reading this book were raw, and that gave me a more thrilling experience.
The work that stuck to me the most is How Master Madman Came to Chi’ng Feng Temple. Despite the very gory details, I couldn’t put it down because it was intriguing. It was about a man trapped inside the body of another man’s corpse and came back to life.
Overall, I’m giving this book 5 out of 5 stars. All historical pieces in this book were exquisite; they were a pleasure to read! I highly recommend this book to readers who love historical literature. Warning: This book contains violence and explicit language.
Cathay is a collection of poems and stories. They are a work of fiction, translation, scholarship, and transformative writing, weaved together by renowned author, editor, translator, and folklorist, Heinz Insu Fenkl. The book contains five poems and four short stories by Chinese poets of the Tang Dynasty and Song Era, and a Korean novelist of the Joseon period.
Review
As a woman who is neither white nor black, I have always been more fascinated with other Asian culture because of the distinct texture they carry in the world of literature. There’s always that feeling of excitement from gaining wisdom and understanding the culture differences. Ironically, for me, Korean and Chinese historical works provide a fresh viewpoint because though they’re somewhat familiar, they’re completely different from my world. Hence, the feelings invoked in reading this book were raw, and that gave me a more thrilling experience.
The work that stuck to me the most is How Master Madman Came to Chi’ng Feng Temple. Despite the very gory details, I couldn’t put it down because it was intriguing. It was about a man trapped inside the body of another man’s corpse and came back to life.
Overall, I’m giving this book 5 out of 5 stars. All historical pieces in this book were exquisite; they were a pleasure to read! I highly recommend this book to readers who love historical literature. Warning: This book contains violence and explicit language.
Displaying 1 of 1 review