Poetry by Han-shan

Cold Mountain: 100 Poems by the T'ang poet Han-Shan by Hanshan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this volume of poetry a lot.

Han-than, a Tang era zen poet, is somewhat popular in China, but for some reason is one of the most popular poets in the West from that era. I'm not sure quite how that happens, but I can say that I really liked the poetry. I agree with the others that there's something important here.

I'm not sure I'd like the poet himself. He talks about the wife he left to go live on Cold Mountain (the English translation of the name he also calls himself) and I don't understand him. I guess he just bailed on her. I only hope it wasn't as bad as it sounds.

But his poetry, filled with nature imagery, ruminations on the pointlessness of ambition, and laments about growing old, makes a lot of sense. It's easy to connect with him on a human level. This collection, translated by Burton Watson, is written in natural language with a hint of poetic language, just the way I most like it. He doesn't try to make it rhyme, and he supplies enough of the missing articles and verbs that it scans well in English. Good stuff.

Here is a representative sample of both the poetry and the translation:

I sit alone in constant fret,
Pressed by endless thoughts and feelings.
Clouds hang about the waist of the mountain,
Wind moans in the valley mouth.
Monkeys come, shaking the branches;
A bird flies into the wood with shrill cries.
Seasons pass and my hair grows ragged and grey;
Year's end finds me old and desolate.

You can hear the poet's voice. You can see the wild natural setting where he has hidden himself. You can feel his loneliness. I think it's just about perfect.

Recommended.

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