Drinking Water: The Song Lyrics of Nalan Xingde

Nalan Xingde, a Manchu noble and imperial guard who died at thirty, wrote the most heartbreaking ci of the Qing. His songs of lost love, the frontier and grief for his young wife have the directness of a modern poet and are still loved today. This is a complete new English translation, with names in modern pinyin and the text rendered as plain, readable English prose. Each poem is given in clear English that keeps its images and its order of lines, so readers can follow the poet's thought without notes. Poetry was the highest art of traditional China, written by emperors, officials, monks, courtesans and soldiers, and these poems are among the finest ever written in any language. It is an ideal book for curious readers who want to explore Chinese literature and thought beyond the few famous titles, in a clear modern English version.