"Popularized in the West by Beat Generation writers Gary Snyder and Jack Kerouac, T'ang-era rebel poet Han Shan is an icon of Chinese poetry and Zen. He and his sidekick, Shih Te, are known as the laughing, ragged pair who left their poetry on stones, trees, farmhouses, and monastery walls, calling others to "the Cold Mountain way" of simple, honest, joyful living. J.P. Seaton takes a fresh look at these poets, as well as at Wang Fan-chih, who followed in the outsider tradition a few centuries later. Forceful and wry, all three condemn the excesses of mind and matter that prevent people from attaining true enlightenment. With a comprehensive introduction and commentary throughout, this collection points to where, in a world that's always moving and so full of suffering, stillness and clarity can be found."--P. [2] of cover.

A fresh translation--and new envisioning--of the most accessible and beloved of all classic Chinese poetry. Welcome to the magical, windswept world of Cold Mountain. These poems from the literary riches of China have long been celebrated by cultures of both East and West—and continue to be revered as among the most inspiring and enduring works of poetry worldwide. This groundbreaking new translation presents the full corpus of poetry traditionally associated with Hanshan (“Cold Mountain”) and sheds light on its origins and authorship like never before. Kazuaki Tanahashi and Peter Levitt honor the contemplative Buddhist elements of this classic collection of poems while revealing Hanshan’s famously jubilant humor, deep love of solitude in nature, and overwhelming warmth of heart. In addition, this translation features the full Chinese text of the original poems and a wealth of fascinating supplements, including traditional historical records, an in-depth study of the Cold Mountain poets (here presented as three distinct authors), and more.

In 1953, Gary Snyder returned to the Bay Area and, at age 23, enrolled in graduate school at the University of California, Berkeley, to study Asian languages and culture. He intensified his study of Chinese and Japanese, and taking up the challenge of one of his professors, Chen Shih–hsiang, he began to work on translating a largely unknown poet by the name of Han Shan, a writer with whom the professor thought Snyder might feel a special affinity. The results were magical. As Patrick Murphy noted, "These poems are something more than translations precisely because Snyder renders them as a melding of Han Shan's Chinese Ch'an Buddhist mountain spirit trickster mentality and Snyder's own mountain wilderness meditation and labor activities." The suite of 24 poems was published in the 1958 issue of The Evergreen Review, and the career of one of America's greatest poets was launched. In 1972, Press–22 issued a beautiful edition of these poems written out by hand in italic by Michael McPherson. We are doing a new augments edition based on the old, with a new design, a preface by Lu Ch'iu–yin, and an afterword by Mr. Snyder where he discusses how he came to this work and what it meant to his development as a writer and Buddhist. On May 11, 2012, for the Stronach Memorial Lecture at The University of California, more than fifty years after his days there as a student, Snyder offered a public lecture reflecting on Chinese poetry, Han Shan, and his continuing work as a poet and Translated by. This remarkable occasion was recorded and we are including a CD of it in our edition, making this the most definitive edition of Cold Mountain Poems ever published.

By any measure, Gary Snyder is one of the greatest poets in America in the last century. From his first book of poems to his latest collection of essays, his work and his example, standing between Tu Fu and Thoreau, have been influential all over the world. Riprap, his first book of poems, was published in Japan in 1959 by Origin Press, and it is the fiftieth anniversary of that groundbreaking book we celebrate with this edition. A small press reprint of that book included Snyder's translations of Han Shan's Cold Mountain Poems, perhaps the finest translations of that remarkable poet ever made into English. Reintroducing one of the twentieth century's foremost collections of poetry, this edition will please those already familiar with this work and excite a new generation of readers with its profound simplicity and spare elegance.

This authoritative, bilingual edition represents the first time the entirety of Cold Mountain's poetry has been translated into English. These translations were originally published by Copper Canyon Press nearly twenty years ago. Now, significantly revised and expanded, the collection also includes a new preface by the translator, Red Pine, whose accompanying notes are at once scholarly, accessible, and entertaining. Also included for the first time are poems by two of Cold Mountain's colleagues. Legendary for his clarity, directness, and lack of pretension, the eight-century hermit-poet Cold Mountain (Han Shan) is a major figure in the history of Chinese literature and has been a profound influence on writers and readers worldwide. Writers such as Charles Frazier and Gary Snyder studied his poetry, and Jack Kerouac's Dharma Bums is dedicated "to Han Shan." 1.B storied cliffs were the fortune I cast bird trails beyond human tracks what surrounds my yard white clouds nesting dark rocks I've lived here quite a few years and always seen the spring-water change tell those people with tripods and bells empty names are no damn good 71. someone sits in a mountain gorge cloud robe sunset tassels handful of fragrances he'd share the road is long and hard regretful and doubtful old and unaccomplished the crowd calls him crippled he stands alone steadfast 205. my place is on Cold Mountain perched on a cliff beyond the circuit of affliction images leave no trace when they vanish I roam the whole galaxy from here lights and shadows flash across my mind not one dharma comes before me since I found the magic pearl I can go anywhere everywhere it's perfect Cold Mountain A mountain man lives under thatch before his gate carts and horses are rare the forest is quiet but partial to birds the streams are wide and home to fish with his son he picks wild fruit with his wife he hoes between rocks what does he have at home a shelf full of nothing but books

Due to their popularity with the American counterculture, the poems attributed to Hanshan, Shide and Fenggan have been translated several times in recent decades. However, previous translations have either been broadly popular in nature or have failed to understand fully the colloquial qualities of the originals. This new version provides a complete Chinese/English edition of the poems, aimed at combining readability with scholarly accuracy. It will prove useful to students of Chinese poetry and of Chinese religion, as well as anyone interested in a better understanding of works that have proved so influential in the history of East Asian Buddhism and in world literature.

"The Mountain Poems of Stonehouse [is] a tough-spirited book of enlightened free verse."—Kyoto Journal The Zen master and mountain hermit Stonehouse—considered one of the greatest Chinese Buddhist poets—used poetry as his medium of instruction. Near the end of his life, monks asked him to record what he found of interest on his mountain; Stonehouse delivered to them hundreds of poems and an admonition: "Do not to try singing these poems. Only if you sit on them will they do you any good." Newly revised, with the Chinese originals and Red Pine's abundant commentary and notes, The Mountain Poems of Stonehouse is an essential volume for Zen students, readers of Asian literature, and all who love the outdoors. After eating I dust off a boulder and sleep and after sleeping I go for a walk on a cloudy late summer day an oriole sings from a sapling briefly enjoying the season joyfully singing out its heart true happiness is right here why chase an empty name Stonehouse was born in 1272 in Changshu, China, and took his name from a cave at the edge of town. He became a highly respected dharma master in the Zen Buddhist tradition. Red Pine is one of the world's leading translators of Chinese poetry. "Every time I translate a book of poems," he writes, "I learn a new way of dancing. And the music has to be Chinese." He lives near Seattle, Washington.

This is an annotated English translation of the poetry of Han-shan (Cold Mountain), a 7th or 8th century Chinese Buddhist recluse who wrote many poems about his life alone in the hills. Many of his poems describe the mountains where he lived in dramatic, yet appealing terms, while at the same time symbolizing in Zen fashion the Buddhist quest for enlightenment. Han-shan became a cult figure in the Ch'an/Zen tradition, and legends portray him and his companion Shih-te as eccentrics who said and did nonsensical things. Han-shan does often write on unusual topics with some of his "poems" being clever insights that just happen to be metric and rhymed. His language is simple and direct; his images and symbols fresh and bold. While the literary value of his work has for the most part been overlooked, this book provides line-by-line literary analysis of some of the more artistically interesting poems. Henricks' work represents, therefore, a major contribution to the study of Chinese literature and Chinese religion.