Nineteen Ways of Looking at Wang Wei, Week 1 of 2

[x_los]

This week and next, we're looking at Eliot Weinberger's "Nineteen Ways of Looking at Wang Wei". This short book discusses many ways to translate a single, brief Tang dynasty poem and the choices involved therein. We'll look at the first nine poems (or versions thereof) this week, and the remainder the following. 

I'll reproduce the translations under discussion here, but c/ping from the pdf is not very reliable and frequently introduces errors. I'm including the text here primarily as a reference point for our discussions: I advise you to look at the book file itself for your reading.

Comments

4. The Form of the Deer

[x_los]

So lone seem the hills; there is no one in sight there.
But whence is the echo of voices I hear?
The rays of the sunset pierce slanting the forest,
And in their reflection green mosses appear.

-W .J.B. Fletcher, 1919

Re: 4. The Form of the Deer

[x_los]

Idk what to do with this defence of Pound's work honestly because he's an incompetent fascist with a broad Orientalist streak who may have popularised work or made it palatable to a modernism-pilled audience but invented exactly jack shit 

Even the language choices of this defence are yikes

Where are Asian translators in this mix? A Japanese informant--come the fuck on

Where are economies and rewards in this consideration of translation 

Re: 4. The Form of the Deer

[forestofglory]

This DNA metaphor doesn't really make sense if you actually understand what DNA does better than your average Star Trek writer.

Re: 4. The Form of the Deer

[superborb]

This is a use of the word Platonic that I've never encountered before.

Not going to touch this extremely weird defense of Pound.

The point about translations being relatives, not clones simply reminds me of that makeup advice about eyebrows. (Eyebrows are sisters not twins!)