Martin Bidney - The Be-Loving Imaginer Episode 28 - Shi-Jing, or Book of Songss

The Be-Loving Imaginer

Shi-Jing, or Book of Songs – China’s earliest verse anthology, 11th to 7th centuries BCE, with all poets anonymous, was translated into Latin by an 18th century French Jesuit priest, a prose text lost, then rediscovered, reprinted in Germany in 1830. It became the source text for an 1833 version by German’s greatest translator-poet, Friedrich Rückert, who learned 44 languages. Chinese wasn’t among them, but Rückert, in his poem “The Spirits of the Songs: A Prelude” shows the spirits of the songs beginning for rebirth in a new language and assuring him of assistance (read final stanza, p. 56). My approach in this podcast will be simply to read you some of my super-favorites. I’ve chosen a baker’s dozen that are brief but vivid. #241 Lover’s Journey #100 The Queen Awakes the King #68. Interpreting the Gifts of Love #77 Joys of a Uniform Coat #3 The Visit of the Young Wife #19 Night-time Duties at Court #36 Modest and Proper #51 Beauty of Unconstraint #95 Worthy Love #101 The Harried Servant #106 Economic Arrangements #109 Common Need and Non-Participation #279 To the Favorite