# Volumes Open all sections Close all sections ### The Poetry of Du Fu (2016) expand\_more ![light green book cover with title in English and Chinese](/sites/g/files/omnuum3151/files/styles/hwp_1_1__960x960_scale/public/loch/files/du_fu.jpg?itok=ruZ5KNur) ### Translated by Stephen Owen Edited by: Ding Xiang Warner and Paul W. Kroll Funded by: The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation De Gruyter Mouton | 2016 DOI: The Poetry of Du Fu presents a complete scholarly translation of Chinese literature alongside the original text in a critical edition. The English translation is more scholarly than vernacular Chinese translations, and it is compelled to address problems that even the best traditional commentaries overlook. The main body of the text is a facing page translation and critical edition of the earliest Song editions and other sources. For convenience the translations are arranged following the sequence in Qiu Zhao’an’s Du shi xiangzhu (although Qiu’s text is not followed). Basic footnotes are included when the translation needs clarification or supplement. Endnotes provide sources, textual notes, and a limited discussion of problem passages. A supplement references commonly used allusions, their sources, and where they can be found in the translation. Scholars know that there is scarcely a Du Fu poem whose interpretation is uncontested. The scholar may use this as a baseline to agree or disagree. Other readers can feel confident that this is a credible reading of the text within the tradition. A reader with a basic understanding of the language of Chinese poetry can use this to facilitate reading Du Fu, which can present problems for even the most learned reader. The following open access versions are provided by the publisher through the generous support of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation: [EPUB](https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9781501501890/epub) [PDF](https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9781501501890/pdf) ### The Poetry of Hanshan (Cold Mountain), Shide, and Fenggan (2017) expand\_more ![image of light green book cover](/sites/g/files/omnuum3151/files/styles/hwp_1_1__960x960_scale/public/loch/files/cold_mountain.jpg?itok=VczyNppO) ### Translated by Paul Rouzer Edited by Christopher Nugent Funded by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation De Gruyter Mouton | 2017 DOI: Due to their popularity with the American counterculture, the poems attributed to Hanshan, Shide and Fenggan have been translated several times in recent decades. However, previous translations have either been broadly popular in nature or have failed to understand fully the colloquial qualities of the originals. This new version provides a complete Chinese/English edition of the poems, aimed at combining readability with scholarly accuracy. It will prove useful to students of Chinese poetry and of Chinese religion, as well as anyone interested in a better understanding of works that have proved so influential in the history of East Asian Buddhism and in world literature. The following open access versions are provided by the publisher through the generous support of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation: [PDF](https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9781501501913/pdf) ### The Poetry of Ruan Ji and Xi Kang (2017) expand\_more ![image of light green book cover](/sites/g/files/omnuum3151/files/styles/hwp_1_1__960x960_scale/public/loch/files/ruan_ji.jpg?itok=JeHm3w3D) ### Translated by Stephen Owen and Wendy Swartz Edited by Ding Xiang Warner and Xiaofei Tian Funded by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation De Gruyter Mouton | 2017 DOI: The poetry of Ruan Ji has been previously translated several times, with one fully scholarly translation of both the poetry and the Fu (poetic expositions). The present translation not only provides a facing page critical Chinese text, it addresses two problems that have been ignored or not adequately treated in earlier works. First, it traces the history of the current text. The rather serious problems with this text will be, if not soluble, at least visible. Second, translations have been shaped by the anachronistic assumption that Ruan Ji was loyal to the declining Wei dynasty, when actual power had been taken by the Suma family, who founded the Jin dynasty after Ruan Ji's death. The introduction shows how and when that assumption took full shape five centuries after Ruan Ji lived and why it is not tenable. This leads to a different kind of translation, closer to what a contemporary reader might have understood and far less certain than referring it to some political event. The Poetry of Xi Kang presents a complete scholarly translation of his poetic works (including "Rhapsody on the Zither") alongside the original texts. Many of Xi Kang's poems are difficult and most are laden with allusions and quotations, adding another level of challenge to interpretation. Basic explanatory notes are provided. The translations are based on the critical modern edition of Xi Kang's work by Dai Mingyang, generally considered to be the best edition available. Important editions by Lu Xun and Lu Qinli are consulted on matters of variants, arrangement, and interpretation. The following open access versions are provided by the publisher through the generous support of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation: [EPUB](https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9781501503870/epub) [PDF](https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9781501503870/pdf) ### The Works of Li Qingzhao (2019) expand\_more ![image of light green book cover](/sites/g/files/omnuum3151/files/styles/hwp_1_1__960x960_scale/public/loch/files/liqingzhao.jpg?itok=iAqtvPy-) ### Translated by Ronald Egan Edited by Anna Shields Funded by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation De Gruyter Mouton | 2019 DOI: Previous translations and descriptions of Li Qingzhao are molded by an image of her as lonely wife and bereft widow formed by centuries of manipulation of her work and legacy by scholars and critics (all of them male) to fit their idea of a what a talented woman writer would sound like. The true voice of Li Qingzhao is very different. A new translation and presentation of her is needed to appreciate her genius and to account for the sense that Chinese readers have always had, despite what scholars and critics were saying, about the boldness and originality of her work. The introduction will lay out the problems of critical refashioning and conventionalization of her carried out in the centuries after her death, thus preparing the reader for a new reading. Her songs and poetry will then be presented in a way that breaks free of a narrow autobiographical reading of them, distinguishes between reliable and unreliable attributions, and also shows the great range of her talent by including important prose pieces and seldom read poems. In this way, the standard image of Li Qingzhao, exemplied by a handful of her best known and largely misunderstood works, will be challenged and replaced by a new understanding. The volume will present a literary portrait of Li Qingzhao radically unlike the one in conventional anthologies and literary histories, allowing English readers for the first time to appreciate her distinctiveness as a writer and to properly gauge her achievement as a female alternative, as poet and essayist, to the male literary culture of her day. The following open access versions are provided by the publisher through the generous support of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation: [EPUB](https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9781501504518/epub) [PDF](https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9781501504518/pdf) ### The Poetry and Prose of Wang Wei (2020) expand\_more ![image of light green book cover](/sites/g/files/omnuum3151/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/loch/files/wwv1.jpg?itok=GoAYl4G9) ![image of light green book cover](/sites/g/files/omnuum3151/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/loch/files/wwv2.jpg?itok=hFe7qKHq) ### Translated by Paul Rouzer Edited by Christopher Nugent Funded by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation De Gruyter Mouton | 2020 DOI: (Volume 1); (Volume 2) Wang Wei has traditionally been considered one of the greatest of Tang dynasty poets, together with Li Bo and Du Fu. This is the first complete translation into English of all of his poems, and also the first substantial translation of a selection of his prose writings. For the first time, readers encountering his work in English translation will get a comprehensive understanding of Wang Wei‘s range as a poet and prose writer. In spite of the importance of Wang Wei's poetry in the history of Chinese literature, no one has attempted a complete translation of all of his surviving poems; moreover, even though he was known for his skill in composing prose pieces in the recognized genres of his day (especially as a writer of commissioned compositions), very little of his prose has been translated. This translation will enable students with limited or no knowledge of Chinese to get a full sense of Wang Wei's compositional range. Moreover, since Wang Wei was known for being a devout Buddhist, having the complete poetry available in reliable translation as well as all of the prose that is connected to the Buddhist faith will be useful to students of Chinese religion. The following open access versions are provided by the publisher through the generous support of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation: Volume 1 - [EPUB](https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9781501516023/epub) [PDF](https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9781501516023/pdf) Volume 2 - [EPUB](https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9781501512971/epub) [PDF](https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9781501512971/pdf) ### Family Instructions for the Yan Clan & Other Works by Yan Zhitui (2021) expand\_more ![image of light green book cover](/sites/g/files/omnuum3151/files/styles/hwp_1_1__960x960_scale/public/loch/files/yz.jpg?itok=FlOFETSo) ### Translated by Xiaofei Tian Edited by Paul W. Kroll Funded by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation De Gruyter Mouton | 2021 DOI: Yan Zhitui (531–590s) was a courtier and cultural luminary who lived a colourful life during one of the most chaotic periods, known as the Northern and Southern Dynasties, in Chinese history. Beginning his career in the southern Liang court, he was taken captive to the north after the Liang capital fell, and served several northern dynasties. Today he remains one of the best-known medieval writers for his book-length “family instructions” (*jiaxun*), the earliest surviving and the most influential of its kind. Completed in his last years, the work resembles a long letter addressed to his sons, in which he discusses a wide range of topics from family relations and remarriage to religious faith, philology, cultural arts, and codes of conduct in public and private life. It is filled with vivid details of contemporary social life, and with the author’s keen observations of the mores of north and south China. This is a new, complete translation into English, with critical notes and introduction, and based on recent scholarship, of Yan Zhitui’s *Family Instructions*, and of all of his extant literary works, including his self-annotated poetic autobiography and a never-before-translated fragmentary rhapsody, as well as of his biographies in dynastic histories. - Offers new complete translation of the literary works by an important medieval writer and his biographies in dynastic histories - Includes a critical introduction and notes - Provides a rich source for Chinese social, cultural, and literary history The following open access versions are provided by the publisher through the generous support of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation: [EPUB](https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9781501503191/epub) [PDF](https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9781501503191/pdf) ### The Poetry of Cao Zhi (2021) expand\_more ![image of light green book cover](/sites/g/files/omnuum3151/files/styles/hwp_1_1__960x960_scale/public/loch/files/cz.jpg?itok=o7Hg5zUk) ### Translated by Robert Joe Cutter Edited by Paul W. Kroll Funded by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation De Gruyter Mouton | 2021 DOI: This book provides a translation of the complete poems and fu of Cao Zhi (192–232), one of China’s most famous poets. Cao Zhi lived during a tumultuous age, a time of intrepid figures and of bold and violent acts that have captured the Chinese imagination across the centuries. His father Cao Cao (155–220) became the most powerful leader in a divided empire, and on his death, Cao Zhi’s elder brother Cao Pi (187–226) engineered the abdication of the last Han emperor, establishing himself as the founding emperor of the Wei Dynasty (220–265). Although Cao Zhi wanted to play an active role in government and military matters, he was not allowed to do so, and he is remembered as a writer. The Poetry of Cao Zhi contains in its body one hundred twenty-eight pieces of poetry and fu. The extant editions of Cao Zhi’s writings differ in the number of pieces they contain and present many textual variants. The translations in this volume are based on a valuable edition of Cao’s works by Ding Yan (1794–1875), and are supplemented by robust annotations, a brief biography of Cao Zhi, and an introduction to the poetry by the translator. The following open access versions are provided by the publisher through the generous support of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation: [EPUB](https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9781501507038/epub) [PDF](https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9781501507038/pdf) ### The Poetry of Meng Haoran (2021) expand\_more ![image of light green book cover](/sites/g/files/omnuum3151/files/styles/hwp_1_1__960x960_scale/public/loch/files/mh.jpg?itok=znhUrZMk) ### Translated by Paul W. Kroll Edited by Stephen Owen Funded by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation De Gruyter Mouton | 2021 DOI: Meng Haoran (689-740) was one of the most important poets of the "High Tang" period, the greatest age of Chinese poetry. In his own time he was famous for his poetry as well as for his distinctive personality. This is the first complete translation into any language of all his extant poetry. Includes original Chinese texts and English translation on facing pages. - First translation into any language of the complete poetry of Meng Haoran (689-740) - Chinese text and English translation on facing pages - Includes Introduction, placing Meng Haoran in his historical context The following open access versions are provided by the publisher through the generous support of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation: [EPUB](https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110734690/epub) [PDF](https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110734690/pdf) ### The Poetry of Li He (2023) expand\_more ![de gruyter logo](/sites/g/files/omnuum3151/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/loch/files/dg_cover.jpg?itok=rLO5tPVq) ### Translated by Robert Ashmore Edited by Sarah Allen, Christopher Nugent, and Xiaofei Tian Funded by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation De Gruyter Mouton | 2023 DOI: Li He (790-816) holds a place in China's poetic history somewhat outside the mainstream, but in every generation of readers there have been those who have found his intense and often cryptic lyrical visions irresistibly fascinating and utterly without parallel. He is renowned particularly for his lyrical reimaginings of song traditions from the ancient past, and his premature death, along with the otherworldly quality of many of his works, led later readers to view him as the emblematic cursed poet, whose fascination with ancient history, with ghosts, and with celestial and demonic beings seemed to presage the brevity of his own existence. Li He's style and diction are often idiosyncratic and even hermetic, and his work presents daunting challenges to readers wishing to follow the flights of his imagination, or simply to construe the basic sense of his language. This volume presents close translations of all of Li He's poetry, in facing-page format with the original texts, with explanatory notes on literary and historical references and difficult points of interpretation, along with endnotes briefly discussing textual variants and other technical matters. Taken together, these features will be a welcome aid to readers wishing to explore Li He's poetic worlds first-hand. ### The Finest Souls of Our Rivers and Alps: A High Tang Poetry Anthology (2025) expand\_more ![Heyue](/sites/g/files/omnuum3151/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2026-02/product_pages.jpg?itok=CiOnHE0I) ### Translated and Edited by Paul W. Kroll Volume edited by Stephen Owen Funded by the Tang Prize Foundation De Gruyter Mouton | 2025 DOI: The “High Tang” is the period long renowned as the golden age of Chinese poetry. This book is the first translation into any language of the only extant anthology compiled contemporaneously that was solely devoted to poetry composed during that period. It contains 230 poems by 24 different poets and was completed around 753, providing a rare contemporary view of what one well-informed reader considered the best verse of the age. The selections are of poems in various lengths, forms, and styles. The poets represented include most of those recognized since then as the greatest writers of the time, as well as those who seem largely forgotten now but who were in their own day held in equally high regard. ### Traditions of Exemplary Transcendents by Liu Xiang (79-8 BCE) expand\_more ![Liexian zhuan](/sites/g/files/omnuum3151/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2026-03/1_0.jpg?itok=aNPyiGz1) ### Translated, with introduction and notes, by Robert Ford Campany Volume edited by Sarah M. Allen and Xiaofei Tian De Gruyter Mouton | 2026 DOI: forthcoming By the middle of the third century BCE, some people in China had begun to imagine it possible to employ esoteric methods to refashion themselves into posthuman beings with spirit-like capabilities, enhanced bodies, and greatly extended lifespans. Such beings were termed transcendents (*xian* 仙). *Traditions of Exemplary Transcendents* (*Liexian zhuan* 列仙傳), attributed to the imperial bibliographer Liu Xiang 劉向 (79-8 BCE), is the earliest extant collection of colorful stories about such figures. This volume makes available a critical edition and the first complete, annotated English translation of a text preserving some of the earliest mentions of alchemical, dietary, and medicinal methods of self-cultivation that later became standard in transcendence-seekers’ repertoire of practices. Through this work we can already glimpse the sorts of engagements with local communities that made the quest for transcendence a matter of keen interest not just to practitioners themselves but to many in Chinese society for centuries thereafter.