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Loading... Guide to Capturing a Plum Blossom (Copper Canyon Classics) (edition 2012)by Po-jen Sung (Author), Red Pine (Translator), Ch'ing Lo (Introduction)
Work InformationGuide to Capturing a Plum Blossom by Sung Po-jen
   None No current Talk conversations about this book.   ) Bostonseanachie | Jun 5, 2016 |   ) g026r | Aug 3, 2012 |
In a sense, this book paints with both ink and word the coming-into-being, that is, the spring, of plum blossoms. . . . Red Pine (Bill Porter), as well as the [original] 1261 publisher, were right to insist that this book is nonetheless exceptional in its artistic insight, indeed, in its insight into the nature of art as such. . . . Red Pine's glosses are indispensable. Without them, the book would only be of interest to specialists. Sung Po-jen's poems, inspired by each moment of the plum blossom's life, are rife with classical allusions to Chinese poetry, the early Daoist and Confucian classics, and indirect references to the prevailing corruption in the royal court. Without such interventions, the poems would be largely opaque.
"It is one of the very first art books which helped artists develop the aptitude for seeing the inner essence of various natural phenomena."--Shambhala Sun "Guide to Capturing a Plum Blossom could fit neatly into any number of contemporary-sounding categories: hybrid text, art book, lyric essay, etc. It is a book that relies on interdependence of image and text, of history and the present, of evocation and concrete image."--The Rumpus "Red Pine introduces Western readers to both the text itself and the traditions it has inherited."--Virginia Quarterly Review "All lovers of Asian poetry, mysterious history, divine drawing, and plum blossoms will enjoy this book. Thank you once again, Red Pine, for deep translation."--Michael McClure Through a series of brief four-lined poems and illustrations, Sung Po-jen aims at training artistic perception: how to trulysee a plum blossom. First published in AD 1238,Guide to Capturing a Plum Blossom is considered the world's earliest-known printed art books. This bilingual edition contains the one hundred woodblock prints from the 1238 edition, calligraphic Chinese poems, and Red Pine's graceful translations and illuminating commentaries. "Tiger Tracks" winter wind bends dry grass flicks its tail along the ridge fearful force on the loose don't try to braid old whiskers Red Pine's commentary: "The Chinese liken the north wind that blows down from Siberia in winter to a roaring tiger. China is home to both the Siberian and the South China tigers. While both are on the verge of extinction, the small South China tiger still appears as far north as the Chungnan Mountains, where hermits have shown me their tracks." Sung Po-jen was a Chinese poet of the thirteenth century. Red Pine (a.k.a. Bill Porter) is one of the world's foremost translators of Chinese poetry and religious texts. His published translations includeThe Collected Songs of Cold Mountain,Lao-tzu's Taoteching, andPoems of the Masters. He lives near Seattle, Washington. No library descriptions found. |
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 Google Books — Loading...GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)759.951The arts Painting History, geographic treatment, biography Other geographic areas Asia China and regionLC ClassificationRatingAverage: (3.92)
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