Relatively unknown in the West, Tian Wen: A Chinese Book of Origins
is a fascinating, though often baffling, archaic collection of 186
"questions" about the origins of life and the meanings of a wide
variety of happenings startling and mundane, earthly and celestial.
Because the poem has no single narrative thread, the most informed
speculation posits group authorship by a number of roving Taoist
scholars, each contributing riddles about the history and legends
of his own province as well as ironically posed inquiries into the
nature of the universe. The enigmatic and sometimes Sphinxlike
conundrums may have been originally intended for debate--to give
the popular and prominent dialecticians of over 2,300 years ago a
tool for honing their convoluted responses. But however the poem
took on its present shape and content, it remains the single most
comprehensive catalogue of ancient Chinese mythology and
pre-Imperial legend in existence. This translation by Stephen Field
of The College of William and Mary combines sound scholarship with
an artful grace to produce the 186 questions in couplets that both
tease and enchant. In addition to a historical introduction that
clearly explains what is known and not known about the poem, Field
provides extensive notes to help the English-speaking reader
understand the basic Chinese myths alluded to in the questions.
General
| Imprint: |
New Directions Publishing Corporation
|
| Country of origin: |
United States |
| Release date: |
February 1987 |
| First published: |
October 1986 |
| Authors: |
Stephen Field
• Yuan Qu
|
| Dimensions: |
213 x 135 x 18mm (L x W x T) |
| Format: |
Hardcover
|
| Pages: |
123 |
| ISBN-13: |
978-0-8112-1010-2 |
| Categories: |
Books >
Humanities >
Philosophy >
General
Books >
Philosophy >
General
|
| LSN: |
0-8112-1010-3 |
| Barcode: |
9780811210102 |
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