Where the Poet Writes in Exile

Written in Exile: The Poetry of Liu Tsung-Yuan by Liu Tsung-Yuan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved this book of Tang dynasty poetry.

In my mind, it is more of a book by the translator, Red Pine, than the poet, Liu Tsung-yuan. Normally, I'd be unhappy about this, but not in this case.

The poetry is amazing, first of all. Liu Tsung-yuan is known primarily as an essay writer in China (which I know from the preface, not from personal experience), though he has a few poems that achieved some popularity. The translator learned he had a lot more poems which had never been rendered in English, and this volume is the result. The poet was a brilliant scholar and civil servant in the Tang Dynasty, holding several important posts in his 20s (following a family tradition of excellence going back generations). Unfortunately, though he and some like-minded bureaucrats had the ear of the new emperor, trying to root out corruption with sensible reforms, the emperor was forced to abdicate by entrenched interests and all of the reformers were sent into exile.

Exile meant continuing to serve, just not anywhere near the capital. He was sent to south China, which was often deadly to those accustomed to the temperate north. After 2 years and after 5, the normal periods of review, he was kept in exile. Even when he was finally called back more than a decade later, he was sent right back to the south, where he continued to serve the emperor and the people.

And write.

Given here in unrhymed verse (thankfully), we have his thoughts and reflections, his feelings, his reactions to life's disappointments, and it's really fine poetry. Personally, as I read verse like this, I look for connections, for discussions of matters that resonate with me, for moments that sound like my life, and though I found some of those moments, and enjoyed them, most of this collection is made up of poetry and language that is absolutely specific to the poet. In the past, I might not have found that of much interest, but here I did. It was a lot like reading a biography in verse, and I liked it.

Like pretty much all Tang poetry, there's talk of nature, of mountains and trails, rivers and trees, rain and fog. As you would expect, we find hints of Taoist thought and Buddhist thought throughout, and poems about monasteries and monks. But not much of it is simply that. Most of the poems are for friends, or recalling specific moments with friends, or written in memory of those who have died. They're based on incidents and his recollection of moments that make them explicitly about the poet and his friends and family, too personal in most cases to feel immediate to a reader like me. (This is not a criticism. I'm only analyzing how I entered them differently than other poetry.) They're still universal in a way, as the life experience of a fellow human, but not in the sense that the words here could ever be mine. No, Liu Tsung-yuan is in every line. It's his voice you hear.

Like this:
Living in obscurity I've given up current affairs
I bow my head in silence and reflect on the sage kings
the highs and lows of the ancient past
the ups and downs of countless paths
I laugh to myself when I'm pleased
when I'm sad I simply sigh
I take my books from their cases
I go through from front to back
despite the affliction of tropical diseases
I feel different than in the past
while reading I suddenly understand
when I'm done my mind is a blank
who can I talk with at night
if not these texts on bamboo and silk

But as I said, this is the translator's book, to me. Every poem comes with notes, usually about half a page. In other collections, I have complained about such intrusion, but here it really worked. It's mostly biographical information giving context to the poems, and it's so complete that it's like reading a story of his life interspersed with illustrating poetry. I found it immersive and compelling.

It didn't work for other reviewers, I see, but I feel like this was probably the most complete and effective book of translated poetry I've ever read. I'm lining it up to read again after a suitable period, and I'm already looking for more books translated by the same person.

And the poet definitely deserves more modern readers. I hope others find their way to his verses.

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