PDF The Tso Chuan Wm Theodore De Bary C T Hsia Barbara Stoler Miller Burton Watson Donald Keene Philip B Yampolsky Books
Download As PDF : The Tso Chuan Wm Theodore De Bary C T Hsia Barbara Stoler Miller Burton Watson Donald Keene Philip B Yampolsky Books
A vivid chronicle of events in the feudal states of China between 722 and 468 B.C., the Tso Chuan has long been considered both a major historical document and and an influential literary model. Covering over 250 years, these historical narratives focus not only on the political, diplomatic, and military affairs of ancient China, but also on its economic and cultural developments during the turbulent era when warring feudal states were gradually working towards unification. Ending shortly after Confucius' death in 479 B.C., the Tso Chuan provides a background to the life and thought of Confucius and his followers that is available in no other work.
PDF The Tso Chuan Wm Theodore De Bary C T Hsia Barbara Stoler Miller Burton Watson Donald Keene Philip B Yampolsky Books
"I'd like to start by saying that this is a review by a general-interest reader. A serious scholar would certainly come away with a different impression.
The book has a lot to like. It's a Watson translation, and it lives up to his usual high standards of readability. Watson has compressed the book, omitting many sections generally taken to be tedious. He does give profuse notes, however, describing the omissions and enriching understanding of the text.
The text itself covers the Spring and Autumn period of Chinese history, about 250 years ending somwehat after Confucius' death. (This is not the Spring and Autumn Annals, though.) The Tso Chuan describes many major figures to which reference is made in later literature. It decribes major wars of the period, court intrigues, prophecies, moral lessons, gallantry, and treachery. All of these come through in anecdotes usually a page or two long.
The anecdotal style is the first of my problems with the book. It looks more like a series of isolated snapshots, less like a unified whole. I guess I'm used to modern histories, where commentary and causal connection help the reader see the larger picture. Also, Watson softened the blow, but the Tso Chuan still hits the reader with many alternative names and titles for historical figures. Place names often referred to cities or states long gone, or referred to them in allusive ways. My western ear is poorly tuned to Chinese names to start with, so this just caused confusion. It's embarassingly easy to see why Japanese scholars have a term set aside for readers who intend to go through the whole text, but abandon the effort early on.
Many of the stories are amusing, many display the morals or beliefs of the time, and many describe events of great cultural importance. On the whole, though, the general-interest reader will need discipline to work through this book. Its kaleidoscopic shifts of unfamiliar people, place, time, and events can be very hard to follow.
//wiredweird"
Product details
|
Tags : The Tso Chuan (9780231067157) Wm. Theodore De Bary, C. T. Hsia, Barbara Stoler Miller, Burton Watson, Donald Keene, Philip B. Yampolsky Books,Wm. Theodore De Bary, C. T. Hsia, Barbara Stoler Miller, Burton Watson, Donald Keene, Philip B. Yampolsky,The Tso Chuan,Columbia University Press,0231067151,Asia,China,Asia - General,Asia - China,Asian / Middle Eastern history,Asian history,China - History,Chinese,Chinese Prose,Chun qiu,Confucianism,Confucius.,Essays, journals, letters other prose works,HISTORY / Asia / China,HISTORY / Asia / General,History,History - General History,History World,LITERARY COLLECTIONS / Asian / Chinese,LITERARY CRITICISM / Asian / General,Literary studies general,Religion/Confucianism,Confucius
The Tso Chuan Wm Theodore De Bary C T Hsia Barbara Stoler Miller Burton Watson Donald Keene Philip B Yampolsky Books Reviews :
The Tso Chuan Wm Theodore De Bary C T Hsia Barbara Stoler Miller Burton Watson Donald Keene Philip B Yampolsky Books Reviews
- These selections from the massive original are translated with a beauty and crispness that one can always expect from Burton Watson. The copious notes are not only edifying, informative and expertly crafted, but for those only beginning a study of Chinese history and literature, these notes and the introductory comments are absolutely critical. The notes are the threads that bind this translation into a coherent single volume that flows well enough (if not perfectly) to help the reader through what is a disjointed text in itself. I suspect only a small number of translators could have achieved this level of organization creating a great distillation from an initially cumbersome text.
This translation leaves one wanting more. Fortunately, Burton Watson translated a considerable volume of Chinese works. He is not the only truly superb translator to transmit China's writings to the English speaking world. Donald Keene and Arthur Waley are also highly recommended and there are more such translators too. - The Tso Chuan is a commentary of the Spring and Autumn Annals.
http//www./The-Annals-Buwei-John-Knoblock/dp/0804733546
The Spring and Autumn Annals were one of the Five Classics. Together with the Four Books these comprised the Confucian canon. For two thousand years Chinese young men were tested on these in the Imperial Exams. Those who passed entered the Scholar Gentry.
This translation of The Tso Chuan, by Burton Watson, is a selection from The Tso Chuan.
The Tso Chuan covers the period in Chinese history from 722 to 468 B.C. For those familiar with Biblical history, this is the period from the time the Assyrian Empire destroyed the Northern Kingdom or Israel, and carried the Israelites there off into exile, to the time shortly after the Babylonian Captivity, when Cyrus the Great of Persia conquered the Babylonian Empire, and let the Jews return to Jerusalem and the surrounding area, where they rebuilt the Temple of Jerusalem.
There was no cultural transmission between ancient China and the ancient Near East. The similarities in the civilizations are due to similarities in human nature. In both cultures we find division of labor, status hierarchies led by monarchs, temples, animal sacrifices, and of course war.
Nevertheless, in China there do not seem to have been priests. Animal sacrifices were given by rulers, government officials, and occasionally by private citizens.
The Chinese were less religious than the Hebrews. “God†and “the gods are mentioned in The Tso Chuan, but these are neither named nor described. The Chinese also lacked prophets who explained the will and the ways of God to the people.
In some ways the ancient Chinese described in The Tso Chuan resembled modern Chinese. Acupuncture is mentioned. So is I Ching, or the Book of Changes.
http//www./s?ie=UTF8&page=1&rh=n%3A283155%2Ck%3Ai%20ching
The difference is that the Chinese described in The Tso Chuan were violent. In this they resembled their barbarian ancestors more than contemporary Chinese, who are known for law obedience and civilized behavior everywhere in the world that they live.
When The Tso Chuan begins there were 120 feudal states in China. When it ends 40 of these survived. Nominally these feudal states were subordinate to the emperor of the Chou Dynasty. However, the Chou Dynasty had become too weak to achieve a monopoly on the legitimate use of violence. The emperor of Chou could only watch haplessly while his nominal vassals fought each other for dominance. Eventually the Ch’in province conquered the rival provinces, and established the next dynasty in 221 BC.
China got its name from the Chin Dynasty. The emperor of the Chin Dynasty attempted to destroy books written before his reign, including The Tso Chuan. He failed to destroy them all, and his dynasty came to an end in 206 BC. The Chin Dynasty was replaced by the much more durable Han Dynasty. Today in China ethnic Chinese are called “Han Chinese.â€
The Han emperor encouraged the scholars to bring their books out from hiding. They were copied. The Four Books and the Five Classics were canonized. The Imperial Exams were begun.
The Tso Chuan is seldom an edifying account. Good does not triumph over evil. Strength and cunning are what wins battles and wars.
Confucius lived during the end of this period. He recoiled from the violence around him, and idealized the past, without apparently knowing that in the past the Chinese gave human sacrifices, sometimes on a large scale.
Due in part to the teaching of Confucius, the way he imagined the Chinese were in the past is the way they became in the future. - I'd like to start by saying that this is a review by a general-interest reader. A serious scholar would certainly come away with a different impression.
The book has a lot to like. It's a Watson translation, and it lives up to his usual high standards of readability. Watson has compressed the book, omitting many sections generally taken to be tedious. He does give profuse notes, however, describing the omissions and enriching understanding of the text.
The text itself covers the Spring and Autumn period of Chinese history, about 250 years ending somwehat after Confucius' death. (This is not the Spring and Autumn Annals, though.) The Tso Chuan describes many major figures to which reference is made in later literature. It decribes major wars of the period, court intrigues, prophecies, moral lessons, gallantry, and treachery. All of these come through in anecdotes usually a page or two long.
The anecdotal style is the first of my problems with the book. It looks more like a series of isolated snapshots, less like a unified whole. I guess I'm used to modern histories, where commentary and causal connection help the reader see the larger picture. Also, Watson softened the blow, but the Tso Chuan still hits the reader with many alternative names and titles for historical figures. Place names often referred to cities or states long gone, or referred to them in allusive ways. My western ear is poorly tuned to Chinese names to start with, so this just caused confusion. It's embarassingly easy to see why Japanese scholars have a term set aside for readers who intend to go through the whole text, but abandon the effort early on.
Many of the stories are amusing, many display the morals or beliefs of the time, and many describe events of great cultural importance. On the whole, though, the general-interest reader will need discipline to work through this book. Its kaleidoscopic shifts of unfamiliar people, place, time, and events can be very hard to follow.
//wiredweird
