/lit/ - Literature

There's four big books called the four classics. The only one I've read is dream of red chambers and it's pretty good. Tao te Ching is and art of war are quick reads but thought provoking, other philosophy/spirituality to look at is Mencius and Confucius. There's a chart in the sticky with some Chinese reads as well. There's some good 20th-century writing, Guo Morou i read for school, he's a communist answer to Goethe and impresses qt Chinese nationals

One of my happy discoveries, and a book I revisit fairly often,is The Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celebrated_Cases_of_Judge_Dee

I'm fluent in both Chinese and English - I can tell you right now that English translations of Chinese literature, without exception, will suck.

Without making it complicated, the problem is that the two languages have completely different origins - one is Latin/Indo-European while the other is just something else. Sentence structure, among other things, is different - and when translated, it just won't come across nicely.

Murakami found a way around this by writing Japanese with an English translation in mind - but as a result, he's not very popular domestically.

>>8708164
Browse the poets: Classic of Poetry, Hanshan, Tao Qian, Li Bo, Du Fu. The poems are short but you're meant to spend time on them.

>>8709930
>reading translated poetry
dude
just no

Chinese lit from the ROC period (1912-1949) tend to be more relatable (and more readable as well imho). Shen Congwen, Qian Zhongshu (who is one of the wittiest writers I know) and Lu Xun are among some of my favorite writers

>>8709935
>memeing memey memes
dude
just no

>>8709930
>>8709935
Have to agree; no translation is good enough to capture the full nuances of Tang poetry in English. The two languages are just structurally too far apart to make it linguistically possible

>>8709939
for prose is a meme, but trust me dude reading translated poetry is like trying to taste something with your feet.

>>8708164
I took a Chinese lit class, a 'couple' of years ago and asked the prof the same question.

He recommended Chuang-Tzu, specifically the AC Graham translation. It trails off in the later chapters, but the first seven, the ones that the historical Chuang-Tzu wrote, are fantastic if you are interested in Daoism, Buddhism, or Eastern philosophy.

The class itself consisted of reading parts Sima Qian, lots of poetry, and parts of the four classics.

If you want some history, read Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian.

Like >>8709917 said, translation is hard. Because of this the poetry tends to suck but some guys like Li Bo are okay with a good translation.

Of the four classics, I've read Journey to the West, and parts of Dream of the Red Chamber. Both are pretty dope.

If you are up to the task, read Anthony C. Yu’s four-volume, unabridged translation of Journey. If you don't want to commit a month or two to it, Arthur Waley wrote an abridged version that's also pretty good.

>>8709940
>>8709952
A visible darkness grows up mountain paths,
I lodge by river gate high in a study,

Frail cloud on cliff edge passing the night,
The lonely moon topples admid the waves.

Steady, one after another, a line of cranes in flight;
Howling over the kill, wild dogs and wolves.

No sleep for me. I worry over battles.
I have no strength to right the universe.


See I think that's great even in translation.

Tu Fu is the only Chinesemen worth reading.

>>8710019
>Chinesemen

>>8710031
It ain't easy being Chinesy.

>>8709917
>I'm fluent in both Chinese and English
Which one is your first language?

>>8709940
>The two languages are just structurally too far apart to make it linguistically possible
One even managed succesfully to translate Szymborska's polish poetry into japanese. Clearly a man of very little faith you are.

>>8710364
>those idioms
>that easy speech
It'll be English. OR he grew up with both of them.

>>8710367
Motherfucker one utterly brilliant retard translated Finnegans Wake.

If there's a work you may as well learn the language for, it's that one.

>>8710389
Funny how in my native language there are like 30 different translations of it and none of them makes any sense.