杜甫:中国最伟大的诗人

by William Hung

Paperback. Pub 2014-02-01 228 Chinese Shanghai ancient books publishing house Hongye I fall in love with du fu man his poems. therefore in du fu's research effort.Published in 1952. the overseas sinology series. du China's greatest poets. so far are known to be in the English world is still the most important writings about du fu.The book with the late Peking University professor Chen Yi Xin completed in 1988 the three volumes of the du fu book said that du fu jie structure in the study of east and west.Because the hongye life by his books have been published at home. the overseas sinology series. du China's greatest poets publication will fill the last blank. it has important academic value and historical an introduction day and ZiFeng wu. upside down in the first chapter Shu brown remember one could ten (712-...

Genres: Poetry, Nonfiction, China

441 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1952

About the author

William Hung (Chinese: 洪業) was a Chinese historian and sinologist known for his contributions to the study of Chinese classical writings and his role in modernizing Sinology. He taught for many years at Yenching University in Peking, one of China’s leading Christian universities, before moving to Harvard University, where he spent the rest of his career mentoring students and developing Chinese studies.
Hung was instrumental in editing the Harvard-Yenching Index Series, a major scholarly resource, and authored Tu Fu: China's Greatest Poet, a widely regarded work on the renowned Tang dynasty poet. He played a key role in establishing the Harvard-Yenching Institute, ensuring Yenching University's collaboration with Harvard in advancing Chinese studies. His academic career combined rigorous Western methodologies with deep classical scholarship, producing influential research on Confucian texts and early Chinese history.
Educated in both China and the United States, Hung attended Ohio Wesleyan University, Columbia University, and Union Theological Seminary. He later became an influential professor and administrator at Yenching University, where he sought to raise its academic standing. Following the Japanese occupation of Peking, he endured hardship but continued his scholarly work in secret. After World War II, he relocated to Harvard, where he remained active in academia, mentoring students and contributing to the development of Chinese studies in the West.
Hung's legacy includes his impact on generations of scholars, his meticulous approach to textual studies, and his efforts to bridge Eastern and Western scholarly traditions.

Reviews

[Tony Gualtieri · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is a tendency in the West to imagine the great Tang poets as nature-loving, wine-drinking rustics living in humble huts on misty mountainsides. I venture to claim this biased picture is due in large part to the sympathies of these poets' English language translators. The nature poetry of this period is truly sublime and is certainly of the most general interest. However, the reality is that these writers were usually trained for the civil service and their poetic careers were initiated by their studies for the imperial examinations. They tended to be men of the world whose bucolic poems were the products of a longing for simplicity. It is easy to confuse the person with the persona.

This book, still the most comprehensive biography of Du Fu in English, gives a much more realistic and well rounded picture. William Hung concentrates on placing the poems in the context of the poet's life and doesn't have much to say about their literary merit, their complex forms, or their allusions to earlier poems. On the other hand, he gives a very full account of the range of Du Fu's subject matter and how the poems relate to his circumstances and surroundings. The book is dated, and its translations are colorless, but it is of vital importance to understanding this most humane of Chinese poets.

[Kamilia Åkerlund · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5⭐️

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

An English-language version of a traditional Chinese approach to Du Fu 杜甫, providing a biographical reading of 374 of his poems. An excellent introduction for the curious beginner with little to no Chinese. The poems are rendered as prose, but are often lively. His scholarship is scrupulous (especially if you consult the follow-up volume containing his notes), but limited by the methods of traditional Chinese criticism. Poetic technique is almost always subordinated to the image of Du Fu as a moral exemplar responding to the withering power of the Tang Empire. Nonetheless, it gives you a great sense of how Du Fu has been read by Chinese literati for the last thousand years.