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The Anchor Book of Chinese Poetry: From Ancient to Contemporary, The Full 3000-Year Tradition
Unmatched in scope and literary quality, this landmark anthology spans three thousand years, bringing together more than six hundred poems by more than one hundred thirty poets, in translations–many new and exclusive to the book–by an array of distinguished translators.
Here is the grand sweep of Chinese poetry, from the Book of Songs –ancient folk songs said to have been collected by Confucius himself–and Laozi’s Dao De Jing to the vividly pictorial verse of Wang Wei, the romanticism of Li Po, the technical brilliance of Tu Fu, and all the way up to the twentieth-century poetry of Mao Zedong and the post—Cultural Revolution verse of the Misty poets. Encompassing the spiritual, philosophical, political, mystical, and erotic strains that have emerged over millennia, this broadly representative selection also includes a preface on the art of translation, a general introduction to Chinese poetic form, biographical headnotes for each of the poets, and concise essays on the dynasties that structure the book. The Anchor Book of Chinese Poetry captures with impressive range and depth the essence of China’s illustrious poetic tradition.
Here is the grand sweep of Chinese poetry, from the Book of Songs –ancient folk songs said to have been collected by Confucius himself–and Laozi’s Dao De Jing to the vividly pictorial verse of Wang Wei, the romanticism of Li Po, the technical brilliance of Tu Fu, and all the way up to the twentieth-century poetry of Mao Zedong and the post—Cultural Revolution verse of the Misty poets. Encompassing the spiritual, philosophical, political, mystical, and erotic strains that have emerged over millennia, this broadly representative selection also includes a preface on the art of translation, a general introduction to Chinese poetic form, biographical headnotes for each of the poets, and concise essays on the dynasties that structure the book. The Anchor Book of Chinese Poetry captures with impressive range and depth the essence of China’s illustrious poetic tradition.
512 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
56 people are currently reading
296 people want to read
About the author
Tony Barnstone
29 books47 followersTony Barnstone is the Albert Upton Professor of English at Whittier College and has a Masters in English and Creative Writing and Ph.D. in English Literature from UC Berkeley. His books of poems include Tongue of War: From Pearl Harbor to Nagasaki (BKMK Press, 2009, winner of the John Ciardi Prize in Poetry), The Golem of Los Angeles (Red Hen Press, 2008, winner, Benjamin Saltman Award); Sad Jazz: Sonnets (Sheep Meadow Press, 2005); and Impure: Poems by Tony Barnstone (University Press of Florida, 1998), in addition to the chapbook Naked Magic (Main Street Rag). He is also a distinguished translator of Chinese poetry and literary prose and an editor of literary textbooks. His books in these areas include Chinese Erotic Poetry (Everyman, 2007); The Anchor Book of Chinese Poetry (Anchor, 2005); Out of the Howling Storm: The New Chinese Poetry (Wesleyan, 1993); Laughing Lost in the Mountains: Poems of Wang Wei (UP of New England, 1991); The Art of Writing: Teachings of the Chinese Masters (Shambhala, 1996); and the textbooks Literatures of Asia Africa and Latin America, Literatures of Asia, and Literatures of the Middle East (all from Prentice Hall Publishers). Among his awards are a fellowship from the NEA, a fellowship from the California Arts Council, a Pushcart Prize in Poetry, and 1st place in in the 2008 Strokestown International Poetry Prize.
He is the recipient of many national poetry prizes and of fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the California Arts Council. Born in Middletown, Connecticut, and raised in Bloomington, Indiana, Barnstone has lived in Greece, Spain, Kenya and China. His website is:
http://www.barnstone.com
He is the recipient of many national poetry prizes and of fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the California Arts Council. Born in Middletown, Connecticut, and raised in Bloomington, Indiana, Barnstone has lived in Greece, Spain, Kenya and China. His website is:
http://www.barnstone.com
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
July 4, 2018
= never-finished.
I love these translations: most of them by Chou Ping and Tony Barnstone (poet, who first came to Chinese poetry to better learn how to write English poems) in a team; with other translations where they thought them unbeatable. The accompaniment -- explanation of translation strategies, introductions -- is also very fine, with a poetry-first approach. They choose outside the canon or the usual suspects where they have enthusiasms, and pay particular attention to women, whose work has a much lesser survival rate (does not mean a lesser output).
I love these translations: most of them by Chou Ping and Tony Barnstone (poet, who first came to Chinese poetry to better learn how to write English poems) in a team; with other translations where they thought them unbeatable. The accompaniment -- explanation of translation strategies, introductions -- is also very fine, with a poetry-first approach. They choose outside the canon or the usual suspects where they have enthusiasms, and pay particular attention to women, whose work has a much lesser survival rate (does not mean a lesser output).
February 6, 2023
Reviewing poetry is always difficult- and because this is an anthology of the translators favorite chinese poems/important historical poems, I liked some and I didn’t like others. Overall a good read though- it was interesting to see how poetry changed over the centuries.
September 10, 2016
The fantastic preface and introduction to this collection could be titled "Lost in Translation". Editors Barnstone and Ping emphasize that the tones, rhymes, ambiguous meanings, complex and elegant structures of classical Chinese poetry simply can't be conveyed in English (nor even in modern Chinese). Yet, in admitting this, and by taking us through their translating process (which requires translators to create a whole new poem in many ways), they reveal the wonderful mystique of language, allowing us to appreciate these poems even more.
The majority of the selections take readers from the Zhou Dynasty (way way back to the first poetry collection in 600 BC!) up through the Yuan Dynasty ending in 1367. That's still a long time ago, but the editors attest that Chinese poetry kinda went downhill starting in the Ming. In fact, the section devoted to Chinese poetry's golden age, the Tang Dynasty (618-907) is about as long as the section covering 1368-present.
The old poems themselves are evocative and surprisingly relatable for all the restrictions they held themselves to - you have the range of human experience here from unrequited love to the pleasures of alcohol and friends, to grief in the face of old age and death. Each author's selection is preceded by a brief, intriguing biographical sketch. This is one for the permanent collection.
The majority of the selections take readers from the Zhou Dynasty (way way back to the first poetry collection in 600 BC!) up through the Yuan Dynasty ending in 1367. That's still a long time ago, but the editors attest that Chinese poetry kinda went downhill starting in the Ming. In fact, the section devoted to Chinese poetry's golden age, the Tang Dynasty (618-907) is about as long as the section covering 1368-present.
The old poems themselves are evocative and surprisingly relatable for all the restrictions they held themselves to - you have the range of human experience here from unrequited love to the pleasures of alcohol and friends, to grief in the face of old age and death. Each author's selection is preceded by a brief, intriguing biographical sketch. This is one for the permanent collection.
August 21, 2024
There is so much information packed into this book not just about Chinese poetry as style but how the poetry evolved throughout history going all the way back to the earliest recorded written poems in Chinese history to modern poetry of the Chinese diaspora. The poetry has plenty of footnotes that give context to references that are not covered directly in the book or fall outside the scope of the book, so I never felt like I was out of the loop reading through the book. It is incredibly well written, and I learned a ton about the evolution of the art form that is Chinese poetry.
The poetry itself was repetitive, and I think it has something to do with the fact that in the lead-up to the collapse of the Qing Dynasty in the early 1900s reading and writing poetry was reserved to people that were either part of the emperor's family or starting during the Sui dynasty for people that were studying to join the government through the civil service exam. It was pretty eye-opening that if these poets throughout history didn't pass this exam they often lived in abject poverty because studying for this exam took up all of your time and a ton of money. They also just did not know how to fend for themselves in the "real world" due to the fact that they spent so much time writing poetry. It has me wondering how Chinese dynasties were able to survive for (sometimes) hundreds of years. The people who passed the civil service exam were gifted poets that could also recite classical Confucian texts. How does that prepare someone to run the country, a province, or even a city or village? Somehow they made it work though! But what else could these people possibly write about other than nature, their wives or husbands, or (very occasionally, because it could get them in a lot of trouble) politics. The translators even mentioned it in their commentary of Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasty poetry that you can only read Li Bai or Du Fu's poetry so much before it gets stale and I was thinking that it was getting repetitive while reading Li Bai and Du Fu.
The repetitiveness of the poetry isn't the fault of this collection though, and I honestly learned so much about Chinese history from the perspective of the arts that I appreciated getting through such a extensive collection.
The poetry itself was repetitive, and I think it has something to do with the fact that in the lead-up to the collapse of the Qing Dynasty in the early 1900s reading and writing poetry was reserved to people that were either part of the emperor's family or starting during the Sui dynasty for people that were studying to join the government through the civil service exam. It was pretty eye-opening that if these poets throughout history didn't pass this exam they often lived in abject poverty because studying for this exam took up all of your time and a ton of money. They also just did not know how to fend for themselves in the "real world" due to the fact that they spent so much time writing poetry. It has me wondering how Chinese dynasties were able to survive for (sometimes) hundreds of years. The people who passed the civil service exam were gifted poets that could also recite classical Confucian texts. How does that prepare someone to run the country, a province, or even a city or village? Somehow they made it work though! But what else could these people possibly write about other than nature, their wives or husbands, or (very occasionally, because it could get them in a lot of trouble) politics. The translators even mentioned it in their commentary of Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasty poetry that you can only read Li Bai or Du Fu's poetry so much before it gets stale and I was thinking that it was getting repetitive while reading Li Bai and Du Fu.
The repetitiveness of the poetry isn't the fault of this collection though, and I honestly learned so much about Chinese history from the perspective of the arts that I appreciated getting through such a extensive collection.
April 30, 2025
A few years ago, I fell in love with reading Classical Chinese poetry. Like a legendary elixir, a panacea, reading ancient poems just seemed to make life better, joys crisper and sorrows more endurable.
I learned to love ancient Chinese poetry by reading David Hinton, Red Pine and Burton Watson. This book cannot and must not replace those volumes. BUT -- it is an invaluable support for those already smitten with this tradition and trying to find their way in a vast array of literature across millenia. (The names alone! No nomenclature has ever defeated me like the dueling systems of Pinyin and Wade-Giles. If you struggle too, this book’s worth it just for that.)
This anthology has the besieged, beleaguered, but indefatigable energy of a sophomore literature professor, charging onward, determined to lead sleepy and distracted students to gems of poetry. “Buckle up kids, we’re gonna get THROUGH this” is the overwhelming tone of the volume. Some translations can feel workaday, overly spelled-out, but -- sometimes that’s a mercy!
I still think David Hinton’s 'Classical Chinese Poetry' is the place to begin, if you are looking for a first anthology. Red Pine’s translations are great too and his cranky erudite footnotes are brilliant company. I often think one or the other has done better than Burton Watson -- until I reread Burton Watson. One translation does not cancel out another -- with these ancient poems, we need as many smart interpretations as we can get.
(I want to admit : One translation here, Wang Wei’s “Seeing Off Prefect Ji Mu as He Leaves Office and Goes East of the River” made me burst into tears. Much as I love poetry, I don’t remember that ever happening in my adult life.)
Because I have the books handy, I’m going to share one of the poems of Su Shi (Su Dong Po) in 3 translations. I think it’s a good example of how Tony Barnstone and Chou Ping’s more straightforward style of translation can succeed, as well as a good way to demonstrate -- we need multiple translations!
BARNSTONE/CHOU PING
Written in Response to Ziyou’s Poem About Days in Mianchi
A life touches on places
like a swan alighting on muddy snow --
accidental claw tracks left in the slush
before it soars east or west into the random air.
The old monk is dead, interred beneath the new pagoda,
and on ruined walls the poems we brushed are illegible.
Do you still remember the rugged path,
the endless road, our tired bodies, how our lame donkey brayed?
BURTON WATSON
Rhyming with Tzu-yu’s ‘At Mien-ch’ih, Recalling the Past’
Wanderings of a lifetime -- what do they resemble?
A winging swan that touches down on snow-soaked mud.
In the mud by chance he leaves the print of his webs,
but the swan flies away, who knows to east or west?
The old monk is dead now, become a new memorial tower;
on the crumbling wall, impossible to find our old inscriptions.
Do you recall that day, steep winding slopes,
road long, all of us tired, our lame donkeys braying?
DAVID HINTON
After My Brother’s ‘Thoughts of Long-Ago at Frog-River Pond’
A person’s life lived out somewhere: do you know what it’s like?
It’s like a wild goose flying free that lands in mud-crust snow,
its web-toed feet leaving a chance print there in the mudpack,
and then sets out again, soaring east or west, who knows where.
Our old monk friend is dead now, the grave’s shrine-tower built,
the monastery wall’s in ruins, those poems we wrote there
gone. Remember how we came here back then, mountain roads
precarious and long, people desperate, that lame mule yowling?
I learned to love ancient Chinese poetry by reading David Hinton, Red Pine and Burton Watson. This book cannot and must not replace those volumes. BUT -- it is an invaluable support for those already smitten with this tradition and trying to find their way in a vast array of literature across millenia. (The names alone! No nomenclature has ever defeated me like the dueling systems of Pinyin and Wade-Giles. If you struggle too, this book’s worth it just for that.)
This anthology has the besieged, beleaguered, but indefatigable energy of a sophomore literature professor, charging onward, determined to lead sleepy and distracted students to gems of poetry. “Buckle up kids, we’re gonna get THROUGH this” is the overwhelming tone of the volume. Some translations can feel workaday, overly spelled-out, but -- sometimes that’s a mercy!
I still think David Hinton’s 'Classical Chinese Poetry' is the place to begin, if you are looking for a first anthology. Red Pine’s translations are great too and his cranky erudite footnotes are brilliant company. I often think one or the other has done better than Burton Watson -- until I reread Burton Watson. One translation does not cancel out another -- with these ancient poems, we need as many smart interpretations as we can get.
(I want to admit : One translation here, Wang Wei’s “Seeing Off Prefect Ji Mu as He Leaves Office and Goes East of the River” made me burst into tears. Much as I love poetry, I don’t remember that ever happening in my adult life.)
Because I have the books handy, I’m going to share one of the poems of Su Shi (Su Dong Po) in 3 translations. I think it’s a good example of how Tony Barnstone and Chou Ping’s more straightforward style of translation can succeed, as well as a good way to demonstrate -- we need multiple translations!
BARNSTONE/CHOU PING
Written in Response to Ziyou’s Poem About Days in Mianchi
A life touches on places
like a swan alighting on muddy snow --
accidental claw tracks left in the slush
before it soars east or west into the random air.
The old monk is dead, interred beneath the new pagoda,
and on ruined walls the poems we brushed are illegible.
Do you still remember the rugged path,
the endless road, our tired bodies, how our lame donkey brayed?
BURTON WATSON
Rhyming with Tzu-yu’s ‘At Mien-ch’ih, Recalling the Past’
Wanderings of a lifetime -- what do they resemble?
A winging swan that touches down on snow-soaked mud.
In the mud by chance he leaves the print of his webs,
but the swan flies away, who knows to east or west?
The old monk is dead now, become a new memorial tower;
on the crumbling wall, impossible to find our old inscriptions.
Do you recall that day, steep winding slopes,
road long, all of us tired, our lame donkeys braying?
DAVID HINTON
After My Brother’s ‘Thoughts of Long-Ago at Frog-River Pond’
A person’s life lived out somewhere: do you know what it’s like?
It’s like a wild goose flying free that lands in mud-crust snow,
its web-toed feet leaving a chance print there in the mudpack,
and then sets out again, soaring east or west, who knows where.
Our old monk friend is dead now, the grave’s shrine-tower built,
the monastery wall’s in ruins, those poems we wrote there
gone. Remember how we came here back then, mountain roads
precarious and long, people desperate, that lame mule yowling?
November 8, 2023
This poetry translation anthology presents examples from some of the earliest known Chinese poetry to authors who are still alive and composing. It's arranged by dynastic period (up until the modern era,) and, within dynasties, by poet. Most of the poets merit only a poem or two, but some of the major poets are allotted many pages of poems. Of course, how much poetry per poet is included isn't just a function of how prolific or popular the poet was, but also how much extant poetry remains -- i.e. how much survived. Each dynastic section begins with an overview of the time and poetic trends, and there is bio blurb for each poet.
There is quite a bit of variation in the book beyond that of the changing nature of Chinese poetry. The translations are also by varied translators, including not only the book's editors but also individuals from the past, such as Arthur Waley. I wouldn't say there is any bad translation in the book, but some translators capture the feel, e.g. the relative sparseness, of Chinese better, and others show their English poetic educations more obviously.
All in all, I enjoyed this selection of poems immensely, and learned a lot about Chinese history as well as of the country's changing poetic tradition. I gained new insight to some of my favorites (e.g. Li Bai, Han Shan, etc.) and gained new favorites I'd never heard of before. I'd highly recommend this book for readers of poetry in translation.
There is quite a bit of variation in the book beyond that of the changing nature of Chinese poetry. The translations are also by varied translators, including not only the book's editors but also individuals from the past, such as Arthur Waley. I wouldn't say there is any bad translation in the book, but some translators capture the feel, e.g. the relative sparseness, of Chinese better, and others show their English poetic educations more obviously.
All in all, I enjoyed this selection of poems immensely, and learned a lot about Chinese history as well as of the country's changing poetic tradition. I gained new insight to some of my favorites (e.g. Li Bai, Han Shan, etc.) and gained new favorites I'd never heard of before. I'd highly recommend this book for readers of poetry in translation.
December 3, 2022
I don't have solid opinions about 20th century English poetry. I treat poetry like music -I like what I like and there's not much time to dig into the whys. So long story short, I'm not about to do a serious critique of Chinese poetry either. I like Chinese poetry and I like this collection. The editors include plenty of non-canonical (their words not mine) poets simply because they like them. That's pretty cool.
June 5, 2024
Contains some of the most important and beautiful pieces of Chinese poetry. This book was a required textbook in one of my Chinese classes and I do not regret buying it! I will say some of the translations are awkward and don’t fully capture the original Chinese texts, and that some of the poems are numbered incorrectly. However for a casual enjoyer of Chinese poetry this book is a must have!
September 22, 2022
loved the breadth of poetry. It is a reminder how it is not western literature that only has a long history of literature. Some of these poems from thousands of years ago are timeless.
I also enjoyed the summary of the history of the times and the small bios of the poets
I also enjoyed the summary of the history of the times and the small bios of the poets
January 21, 2023
An excellent anthology
This excellent and wide ranging anthology ranges from the roots of Chinese poetry right up to the present day. The translations are from various sources and are mostly very good if not excellent poetry. There are very good notes.
This excellent and wide ranging anthology ranges from the roots of Chinese poetry right up to the present day. The translations are from various sources and are mostly very good if not excellent poetry. There are very good notes.
April 1, 2024
I didn't feel the translations were quite as good as the book I read last year but this one covered a lot more ground. The contemporary poets could have used a little more, something? It didn't make me want to follow up on anyone.
July 3, 2025
Remarkable, given it is not a doorstopper and condenses a "3000-year tradition".
December 14, 2014
What can I say? I imagine that a book of the highlights of thousands of years of Chinese poetry is not for everybody, and that the people for whom it IS may already know who they are. So I'll just point out that this is not a gargantuan undertaking (it's not huge and hefty, like a Norton -- it's a slim overview, relatively) and it's quite well done, easily readable, and full of super-interesting gems.
February 7, 2012
Astonishingly readable. I picked it up to see how much info I could glean before giving up in boredom. To my surprise, I kept returning to it even when distracted by lighter and potentially tastier fare. The historical narrative and commentary about individual poets were well-written and the poems themselves were appealing.
May 13, 2012
The art of Chinese poetry is so amazing. This book does a fantastic job summing it all up. There are some beautiful translations in this collection.
Want to read
January 18, 2013
July 5, 2014
This book is a great read!
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews