annescorner's review
3.0
Mostly historical, nature and personal poems mixed with some ballads and songs. Enjoyed some, did not connect with others. Wanted to get a feeling for old Chinese poetry and these translations were quite good. Did however not understand all comparisons and associations made as they are rooted in historical events, figures or myths.
obscuredbyclouds's review
2.0
This is a collection of poems by three Chinese poets from the Tang Dynasty.
A lot of times poetry makes me feel so stupid but I try just to accept the fact that most poems do nothing to me. Still I think it's good, at least, that I expose myself to some poetry now and then to see if anything changes (also: it's not that I don't like ANY kind of poetry, I really Larkin after all...).
I did not enjoy any of the Wang Wei or Li Po poems. That doesn't they are "bad" but they did nothing for me. But I did regret that I stopped studying Chinese because I had a feeling this would be more interesting to read in the original version because a lot of times translations of poems are just very... off.
I did like some of the Tu Fu and I can see myself trying out some more of his work eventually.
A lot of times poetry makes me feel so stupid but I try just to accept the fact that most poems do nothing to me. Still I think it's good, at least, that I expose myself to some poetry now and then to see if anything changes (also: it's not that I don't like ANY kind of poetry, I really Larkin after all...).
I did not enjoy any of the Wang Wei or Li Po poems. That doesn't they are "bad" but they did nothing for me. But I did regret that I stopped studying Chinese because I had a feeling this would be more interesting to read in the original version because a lot of times translations of poems are just very... off.
I did like some of the Tu Fu and I can see myself trying out some more of his work eventually.
nlusson's review
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
misspalah's review
4.0
I understand it but the level of my understanding might just be on the surface of these magnificent writing. With poetry, you can never figure out the true intention of the poets. It might have different interpretation with all the symbolisms and descriptions they used in their poems. However, I appreciate the beauty of these poems. As i continued on, i felt soothing. I felt that i was in the scene, seeing similar things like these poets did. My favourite poems from this book is 'watching a farewell' and 'hard is the journey'.
matcharlyy's review
dark
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
coffeemournings's review
3.0
Frankly, I need a version of this that contains Mandarin, pinyin and the English.
pemdas97's review
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
1.0
hotaroutachibana's review
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
It's a good collection of poems to have a glimpse of Tang Dynasty's style of poetry and literature.