【Preface】

‘Cherish one’s own beauty, respect other’s beauty, and when both beauties are respected and cherished, the world will become one”（各美其美，美人之美，美美与共，天下大同——费孝通）, said Fei Xiaotong, a famous Chinese sociologist at a cerebration party in honor of his eightieth birthday about thirty years ago. In a time of growing interest in intercultural communication today, these words sound especially wise and far sighted. Translation, as one of the most important means for cultural communication, is usually done into one’s mother tongue from other languages by native translators. This largely guarantees the quality of translated text, so far as the linguistic readability is concerned. However, this method implies a one-sidedness in correspondence, as only the translator’s ‘respect for other’s beauty” is concerned, regardless, though not completely, of how the local people look upon and cherish their own beauty. It should be compensated by translations on the other way, that is, works selected, interpreted, and translated by the local people themselves into languages other than their own. This approach may go directly against the prevalent views in modern translation theories but, in my opinion, is worthy of practicing. It is perhaps an even more effective way to bring about successful communication in cultures, and the beauties of the world can really be shared by the world’s people. It is with such understanding that the Shanghai Foreign Languages Education Press is organizing a new series of books, entitled Readings of Chinese Culture, to introduce Chinese culture, past and present, to the world, with works selected and translated by the Chinese scholars and translators. 

The series will cover a wide range of writings including but not restricted to works of different literary genres. For the first batch, we are glad to provide three books of essays and two books of short stories, all written by authors of the 20th century. They will be continued by a batch of serious academic writings on premodern Chinese classics in philosophy, literature, and historiography, written by influential scholars of our time. Later, we will offer more books on classical Chinese drama, classical Chinese poetry, etc. 

Some of the books in the series have been published before, but they have been revised and rearranged for the new purpose to meet the current needs of broader readers. We are looking forward to hear comments and suggestions on the series for future improvement.

【译者简介/About the translator】

王宏印（笔名朱墨，1953年生）

南开大学外国语学院英语系教授，博士生导师，博士后流动站站长，翻译中心主任。兼任中华文化典籍翻译专业委员会会长、中国翻译协会专家会员。出版书籍50余部，发表论文90余篇，包括诗歌翻译、评论与创作。

Wang Hongyin (penname Zhu Mo, born 1953) is Professor of the English Department, doctoral tutor, and director of Postdoctoral Program and Translation Centre of the College of Foreign Languages, Nankai University. He is also Chairperson of the Translation Association of Chinese Classics, and specialist member of the Translators’ Association of China. He has published over 50 books and over 90 papers in the fields of translation, composition and criticism of poetry.

 Introduction

 100 Yuan Qu Poems in English:Sanqu A Spring Scene

 A Lotus-Gathering Song

 Lotus Leaves Dry 

 Er An Autumn Scene

 A Good Wish

 A Fisherman and a Woodman

 A Poem on the Temple Wall

 as My Leisure Life

 An Autumn Scene

 Parting from an Actress

 TE Life Counting

 8E, The World Changes

 SE A Wonderful Hour

 er Parting Sorrows

 C The Song of Great Virtue

 For a Private Pleasure

 Blue Jade Flute

 Autumn

 Ch Knowing Life

 CA Such Is the World 

 Reminiscence

 Winter Clothes

 Time Slips 

 Keep Things Going

 AutumnThoughts

 Fishermans Evening

 A Folk Song from Shouyang

 Watching Tide

 Who Is the Hero

 Quiet Retreat

 Shall I Climb High 

 Wild Tastes

 Autumn Thoughts

 Si- Looking into China Proper 

 Tears on Blue Shirts

 61 Missing You 

 DL ASong of Yaos Men

 Farewell, Springtime

 Plum Blossom

 A Loving Night

 Pondering on History from the Tongguan Pass Pondering on History from Mount Lishan

 Good Rain 

 To My Hearts Content

 Overjoyed

 Retreating

 Praying for Rain 

 A Deep Sigh

 Missing My Boyfriend

 Sea of Sorrow

 Go Home, Then

 Dreamers and Dreams

 An Autumn Night

 By the Crabapple

 Truth of Life

 A Nest Called Idle Cloud 

 Night Rain

 A Love Debt 

 Loves Labor

 Meeting, Unexpected

 Spring Sorrow

 Loves Invitation

 A Right Place for the Soul

 Being a Gentleman in the Country Lovesickness

 Dating

 A Fair Couple

 Spring Is Here

 Response to a cholar

 Plum Blossom

 An Old Wife 

 To a Poet

 Fellow Travelers

 A River Night 

 Spring: Once More by the Lakeside

 Worldly Affairs

 Looking into China Proper

 Retreating

 On the Cleansing River

 To a Teashop

 A Love Letter

 Your Love Care

 A Mock at the Noble

 Flowers and Butterflies

 Along the Mountain Path

 A Wild Goose

 A Song of Man

 The New Moon

 Around the Gate: Petals Fallen

 Around the Gate: The Crabapple Blossom Lifes Fate

 Fallacy

 Silver, Silver

 Blooming or Withering

 Remembrance

 A Flying Kite

 100 Yuan Qu Poems in English: Juqu

 The Billows Roll on Eastwards

 Heaven, How Can You Be Yourself like That 

 Sick and Thin

 Blue Sky with White Clouds

 Come Together, Smiling

 Looking up from the West Frontier

 A Parasitic Plant

 Wandering through Cathay

 When to Return

 So Many Colors Splendid

 How Especially Alluring Is the Spring This Year