In this Book
- The Residue of Dreams: Selected Poems of Jao Tsung-i
- Book
- 2016
- Published by: Cornell University Press
The Residue of Dreams is the first English-language publication of the classical-style poems of Jao Tsung-i (b. 1917), a prominent artist-calligrapher, scholar-poet, and polymath living in Hong Kong. Jao's poems in various traditional forms reflect the tumultuous history of twentieth-century China, but also demonstrate the enduring resonance of its classical culture. The Residue of Dreams contains a broad-ranging selection of Jao's poems covering topics from the Second World War and his travels in Southeast Asia, to Nietzsche and the scribes of medieval Dunhuang. The poems give a vivid impression of one of the most erudite minds of our time, and show a new side of contemporary Chinese literature that has mostly been overlooked in English-language publications. All poems are presented both in the original Chinese text and in English translation, accompanied by scholarly notes with identification of many of Jao's allusions and cultural references. The introduction places Jao's poetry in the context of modern Chinese literary studies and elucidates its cultural background for general readers.
Table of Contents
- Prefatory Note
- pp. xiii-xiv
- List of Illustrations
- pp. xv-xvi
- Introduction
- pp. 1-16
- I Taking Refuge
- pp. 17-18
- Ballad of Yaoshan
- pp. 22-23
- Mankind Day
- p. 24
- Sent to My Elder Yu Ruizheng
- pp. 25-26
- The Winter Solstice
- p. 27
- Essay on Horse Manure
- pp. 28-30
- Essay on White Clouds
- pp. 31-34
- II Western Parallels
- p. 35
- On Ruins of Colosseum in Rome
- pp. 36-37
- On First Entering the Mountains
- pp. 38-39
- Mont-Blanc
- pp. 40-41
- Mont-la-ville
- p. 42
- Reading the Poetry of Rimbaud
- pp. 47-48
- Queens Town
- p. 53
- On the Grand Canyon
- pp. 54-55
- III Eastern Visions
- p. 57
- On Lake Toba
- p. 61
- Visiting Angkor Wat at Night
- pp. 63-64
- To the Tune of "Hundred-Word Air"
- pp. 70-71
- Matching the Rhymes of Lord Tao #10
- pp. 105-106
- Late Stirrings for Hsuan-t'ang
- pp. 115-116
- VII On Painting
- pp. 117-118
- Quatrains Inscribed on Paintings
- pp. 120-127
- More Quatrains Inscribed on Paintings
- pp. 128-131
- Essay on Cloudgazing
- pp. 134-135
- VIII The Sound of the Qin
- pp. 143-144
- To the Tune of "Severe Cold Syncopation"
- pp. 147-148
- To the Tune of "Prelude to a Water Melody"
- pp. 149-150
- IX On Poetry
- p. 151
- The Poetic Mind
- pp. 159-160
- To the Tune of "Regret in the Damask Court"
- pp. 161-162
- To the Tune of "Passing the Towers of Qin"
- pp. 163-164
- X On Scholarship
- p. 165
- Essay on Crabs
- pp. 168-170
- Dreaming of Return
- p. 182
- Waking Up from Sleep
- p. 184
- Dreaming of Heaven
- pp. 185-186
- To the Tune of "Six Scoundrels": On Sleep
- pp. 191-192
- Bibliography
- pp. 197-202
- Cornell East Asia Series Publications List
- pp. 203-208