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/lit/ - Literature

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10561418 No.10561418 [Reply] [Original]

There have been /lit/ reading clubs for the postmodern meme books and I think there were a few for western classics such as War and Peace, but would anyone be interested in a reading group for the Great Classical Chinese novels? I was thinking we could start with Water Margin/Outlaws of the Marsh since it's the earliest out of the six novels with the "great classical" label.

>> No.10561422

Best translation? How long is it?

>> No.10561441

>>10561422

It's a 2000+ page book sometimes collected in multiple volumes.

Sidney Shapiro did the first complete translation of all the chapters and is considered one of the best, and it's also probably the easiest to obtain.

>> No.10561445

>>10561418
I'm down to fuck if someone can find a fucking copy of it. I don't even know if you can find an unabridged/all-in-one version. Let alone >>10561422

>> No.10561464

>>10561445

I don't know if you can find it on #bookz but if you're willing to buy it or check it out from a library it's not that hard to find.

https://www.amazon.com/Outlaws-Chinese-Classics-Classic-Volumes/dp/7119016628/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1516407867&sr=8-1&keywords=outlaws+of+the+marsh

>> No.10561598

The tuttle edition translated by J.H Jackson is online and I can get it, but it's only 850 pages in contrast to the shapiro translation being 2000+ pages over 5 volumes so it's probably abridged.
I guess I might buy it once I get some money. It's annoying that there's no ebook since I prefer to read on my ereader.

>> No.10561607

Why not RtK? In terms of which classic had the most overall influence on culture, that would probably be it. Also it might be easier to find a translation for.

>> No.10561627

>>10561607
I have an epub of the moss roberts translation of three kingdoms if anyone is interested

>> No.10561761

/lit/ can't even finish a 350 page book, let alone a 2600 pg one.

>> No.10561910

>>10561445
>>10561464
https://my.mixtape.moe/zcugcp.epub
Shapiro edition

>> No.10562819

>>10561607

The idea would be to go chronologically through all four/six works that are called the Great Classical Chinese novels. So Outlaws of the Marsh, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Journey to the West, The Plum in the Golden Vase, The Scholars, and finally Dream of the Red Chamber.

>> No.10562842

>>10561418
>Great Classical Chinese novels
>>>/a/

>> No.10563353

It took me a bit over a year to finish Journey to the West with my sparse reading habits, so I am probably too slow to join in. Thanks for the titles, though--more Chinese classics to read without typing like 32 characters into Google

>> No.10563396

I'm down.

>> No.10564344

>>10561418
What do you think is a good schedule for it?

>> No.10565196

>>10564344

I was going to leave that up to you guys, but I guess 3-6 chapters a week?

>> No.10565420

>>10565196
1 chapter/day

>> No.10565452

>>10565196
>>10565420
How about 4 chapters a week?
While I can probably keep up with 7 or whatever, I've noticed that for online groups like this it's better to tone it down a bit in order for people to not drop out.

>> No.10565491

>>10565452
There are 100 chapters total in the Shapiro version, and it's a very long novel (2,116 pages). It will take you 6 months to finish the novel when reading 4 chapters per week. Each chapter is 21 pages on average. So, it should be pretty easy to read at one chapter per day.

>> No.10565564

I'm down for one chapter a day

>> No.10565640

>>10565491
that sounds reasonable, I didn't do the math
I'm up for it

>> No.10565668

If start with the Greeks for western literature, who do I start with for East Asian literature?

>> No.10565745

>>10565668
east asia is not a monolith, but I suppose starting with the indians would be the way to go, since they influenced others and weren't too influenced by others. (e.g buddhism spread into china, japan, etc)
Realistically, the scholarship on eastern works is not as developed as the scholarship of western works, especially in the english language. so while you could start with the chinese, you could be missing references you wouldn't get to the hindu canon and you would never know because no one would point it out to you. That being said, the literary canons of nations in east asia are much more self-contained than the western canon, the caveat being the bias due to lack of scholarship I mentioned earlier.

>> No.10565752

>>10565668
An Introduction to Chinese Philosophy by JeeLoo Liu
Readings in Classical Chinese Philosophy by Ivanhoe, Van Norden

>> No.10566106

>>10565564
>>10565640

So would it be OK if I made a thread next Friday and then make threads every Friday for the reading group?

>> No.10566284

>>10565640
Or you can read 1 chapter each weekday, and read 3 chapters on Saturday and Sunday for 11 chapter per week, which would have you finish the novel in 9 weeks.

>> No.10566397

>>10566106
Discuss chapters 1-7 on Friday? That sounds fine

>> No.10566550

>>10566106
>>10566397
sounds good