The poetry of Han-shan : a complete, annotated translation of Cold Mountain PDF
Preview The poetry of Han-shan : a complete, annotated translation of Cold Mountain
Page i The Poetry of Hanshan Page ii SUNY Series in Buddhist Studies Kenneth K. Inada, Editor Page iii The Poetry of HANSHAN A Complete, Annotated Translation of Cold Mountain Robert G. Henricks STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK PRESS Page iv Published by State University of New York Press, Albany ©1990 State University of New York All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information, address State University of New York Press, State University Plaza, Albany, NY 12246 Library of Congress CataloginginPublication Data Henricks, Robert G., 1943 The poetry of Hanshan: a complete, annotated translation of Cold Mountain/by Robert G. Henricks. p. cm.—(SUNY series in Buddhist studies) Bibliography: p. Includes index. ISBN 0887069770.—ISBN 0887069789 (pbk.) 1. Hanshan, fl. 627649—Translations, English. I. Title. II. Series. PL2677.H3A244 1990 895.1'12—dc20 894452 CIP 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Page v Contents Preface vii Introduction 1 Problems of Dating and Authorship 3 On the Life of Hanshan 7 The Poetry of Hanshan 12 Translator's Note 20 Notes 21 Translations 27 Preface to the Ch'üan T'ang Shih Edition of Hanshan's Poems 29 Poems No. 1No.311 31 Appendices 417 I. The Dates of Hanshan: The Internal Evidence 419 II. Previous English Translations 423 III. An Index to Themes 433 Page vi IV. Buddhist Terms, Metaphors, and Stories 439 Bibliography 457 Index 469 Page vii Preface For many years I have used Burton Watson's Cold Mountain as a textbook in my Buddhism in China course by way of introducing students to the way in which Zen Buddhist ideas might be put into verse. In the summer of 1983, I decided to spend some time reading the Hanshan poems in the original, and I discovered to my delight that there were many good poems in the Hanshan collection that had never before been translated into English, whether by Watson (who did one hundred of the poems), Arthur Waley (twentyseven), Gary Snyder (twentyfour), or Wu Chiyu (fortynine). Moreover, in the extant English translations, very little had been done in terms of annotating allusions or explaining background information or providing the reader with analysis of what individual poems might mean in terms of the symbolism and/or literary structure of the verse. I decided, therefore, that a complete, annotated translation of the Hanshan collection of 311 poems would indeed be a worthwhile project, one that would make a significant contribution to the body of Chinese literary works available in English in providing a text that would be appealing and useful to specialists and general readers alike. The project has taken four years to complete. My work has been aided tremendously by having an excellent, annotated Japanese edition of the poems to useIritani and Matsumura's Kanzanshi. Iritani and Matsumura not only document Hanshan's many allusions to works in the Chinese classical, literary tradition; they Page viii also locate with accuracy allusions to Buddhist texts (though they have been helped in this by the earlier work of Hakuin). As my work progressed on the translation, I learned from others that the author "Red Pine" had just recently published a complete English translation of the poems (Copper Canyon Press, 1983), so my complete translation would not be the first. However, given that Red Pine's text is not a thorough scholarly edition of the poems, there is still a great deal the present work has to add; moreover, we translate in quite different styles. I also learned only last year that a complete, annotated French translation had appeared in 1985 (Patrick Carré, Le Mangeur de Brumes). Having read through this translation, I can say that the virtue of this book is that Carré is more concerned than I with exploring and explaining the Buddhist dimensions of Hanshan's verse; his annotation is often incomplete and imprecise. Let me be clear at the outset that I do not offer the present translation as an improvement on all previous attempts at translating Hanshan. Arthur Waley and Burton Watson stand as two of the great alltime translators of Chinese things into English, and Gary Snyder has a feel for the colloquial nature of some of Hanshan's poems that is still enjoyed by a great many readers. It is not my hope or expectation that readers will enjoy my translations even more, though I certainly hope that my translations are smooth, readable, and accurateeven sometimes poetic; I strive throughout to maintain something of the balance and rhythm that we find in each line in the original. My aims in the present work are three: (1) To provide a complete English translation of the Hanshan poems so that readers will at last know all of Hanshan's poems and in this way realize, if nothing else, just how varied his poetic interests were. (2) To make available to specialists on the T'ang (618906) and to specialists on Chinese poetry and literature an important source of data for the work they do in their fields. (3) To make available to Buddhist scholars an important source of materials for understanding the spread and development of Buddhist texts and ideas in China during the T'ang, and an important source of materials on early Zen (Ch'an). By way of conclusion, let me note that I think many readers will be struck, as I have been, by a number of things that such a translation reveals. For example, I am surprised by the wide variety of themes on which Hanshan writes, by the cleverness of his observations and the sharpness of his wit, and by his technique as a poet: quite a few of Hanshan's poems are only understood and ap Page ix preciated through close linebyline poetic analysis. Moreover, I think the reader will see that Hanshan was well acquainted with the classical Chinese literary tradition, alluding as he does to well known people and events and anecdotes in the Confucian and Taoist classics, the dynastic histories, and so on. He shows special interest in using lines and themes from the "Nineteen Old Poems" of the Han and the collected Yüehfu (Music Bureau) ballads and songs. Finally, though we have known for some time that Hanshan knew of and used the Nirvanasutra * more than any other Buddhist text in his poems, my translation will reveal precisely which stories and metaphors caught his eye, and it will reveal that many of the fresh, strikingly graphic metaphors Hanshan employs in his poemssomething for which he is knownstem, in fact, from Buddhist texts in general and the Nirvanasutra in particular. There are many people and organizations to thank for their help with this work. Much of the productive labor on this volume was completed at the Stanford Center in Taipei, where I enjoyed an IUPCSCC Fellowship from January to June 1986: thus let me begin by expressing my thanks to that fellowship committee for selecting me as a fellow and to Dartmouth College for granting me sabbatical leave during that time. At the Stanford Center I was able to read through all of the poems with Wen Anp'ing and discuss with her meanings, allusions, and interpretationsI am deeply indebted to her for her help with many poems and lines. I was also fortunate to have, as two of my fellow Fellows at the Stanford Center, Bill Nienhauser of the University of Wisconsin, an expert on T'ang poetry, and Bob Borgen of the University of Hawaii, a specialist in Japanese language and literature. Bill kindly agreed to read through my first draft translation and made many valuable suggestions; Bob willingly helped me with the Japanese of Iritani and Matsumura when I was unsure of what they might mean. Back at Dartmouth I was able to work with Professor Li Kai, a specialist on Chinese literature from Beijing Normal University, who was in residence here for two years. Professor Li shared with me his views on a number of problematic interpretations, ably quoting similar lines from other poets off the top of his head. Pamela Crossley, my colleague at Dartmouth in Chinese history, helped me at the end with background on a number of Chinese institutional issues. Finally I want to thank Chen Zengyin, who served as my research assistant in the fall and spring terms of last year, Scott Abernathy, who checked the accuracy of Buddhist terms and allusions, and my typist Deborah Hodges, who conscientiously
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