There have been many translators of Chinese literature and poetry over time, but Arthur Waley stands out as one of the best known and most loved. This is perhaps because he had an attribute that most others lacked, which is his poetic abilities. Waley was as much a poet himself as a translator, and while his scholarly erudition was matched by a few others at his time, none ever managed to bring out the true character of Chinese poetry quite so well.Contained in thi...

In this entertaining pamphlet, the author, who was an expert on the artistic traditions of China and Japan, examines the effect of Zen Buddhism on popular culture. He provides a perceptive thumbnail view of the development of Buddhism in the Far East, and engaging portraits of its luminary figures.

In Zen Buddhism and Its Relation to Art, Arthur Waley explores the profound connections between Zen Buddhist philosophy and artistic expression. The work delves into how Zen principles—such as simplicity, spontaneity, and mindfulness—manifest in various art forms, including painting, poetry, and calligraphy. Waley articulates the idea that Zen encourages an aesthetic of direct experience and authenticity, where the artist seeks to convey an immediate perception of reality rather than an id...

The Real Tripitaka gives an account of the seventh century pilgrim's adventures, spiritual and material, both in India and after his return to China. That legendary journey was fictionalized in the classic Journey to the West, translated in part by Waley. In addition this book contains an account of a Japanese pilgrim's visit to China in the ninth century, which describes the Wu-t'ai Shan, China's great place of Pilgrimage, and an eyewitness' account of the great persecution of Buddhism in...

Delve into the rich tapestry of Tang Dynasty China with Arthur Waley's The Life and Times of Po Chü-i 772-846. This masterful biography presents an in-depth exploration of the life, works, and historical context of Po Chü-i, one of China's most beloved and influential poets.Arthur Waley, a renowned sinologist and translator, brings to life the vibrant world of 8th and 9th-century China through the lens of Po Chü-i's experiences. Waley meticulously reconstructs the poet's life from h...

The Nō Plays of Japanby Arthur WaleyTranslations of a selection of Nō dramas, which have deep connections with Japanese Buddhism, Shinto, and Japanese folklore.Part prose, part verse, the visually stunning No plays of Japan deal with such subjects as insanity, obsession and historical characters, and frequently have as their focal points demons, gods, and beautiful women. Among the 19 works and 15 summaries included here are Ukai (The Cormorant-Fisher), Hatsuyuki (Ea...

In this unforgettable book, Arthur Waley brings together a number of his articles, poems and translations. Included in this collection are pieces on the eighth-century Chinese poet Ts’ên Shên and the great Chinese prose writer, Han Yü, as well as some of Waley’s original poems and stories. But the most compelling is ‘The Secret History of the Mongols’, consisting of long extracts from a thirteenth-century Chinese saga. Written in vivid, elegant prose, it recounts fantastic tales of epic ba...

The No Plays of Japan is a collection and translation by Arthur Waley that introduces the Western world to the traditional Japanese Noh drama. Noh, a theatrical form that originated in the 14th century, is known for its slow, stylized movements, minimalistic staging, and deep philosophical themes. Waley's translation includes a selection of Noh plays that reflect the spiritual and poetic nature of the genre, often focusing on themes of love, death, and the supernatural.The collection inclu...

A dive into one of China's great poets by the first great populariser of Chinese literature, Arthur Waley.Also known as Li Bai (Chinese: 李白; pinyin: Lǐ Bái, 701–762), also pronounced as Li Bo, courtesy name Taibai (Chinese: 太白), was a Chinese poet, acclaimed from his own time to the present as one of the greatest and most important poets of the Tang dynasty and in Chinese history as a whole. He and his friend Du Fu (712–770) were two of the most prominent figures in the flourishing ...

For generations, Arthur Waley's lyrical translations served as the primary gateway to Chinese poetry for the English-speaking world. Celebrated for rendering classical verse into enduring English poetry, his work reached both popular and scholarly audiencesThis volume presents a definitive chronological collection of Arthur Waley's seminal translations, Organized by dynasty, this edition transforms Waley's scattered masterpieces into a coherent historical journey through Chinese li...

Kutune Shirka, The Ainu Epictranslated by Arthur Waley"Ainu (also called Ezo in historical texts) are an ethnic group indigenous to Hokkaido, the Kuril Islands, and much of Sakhalin. It has been speculated that parts of northern Honshu and the southernmost third of the Kamchatka peninsula also may have been inhabited by Ainu people in pre-modern times. Their most widely known ethnonym is derived from the word aynu, which means "human" (particularly as opposed to kamuy, i.e.,...

Chapters include: Zen Buddhism; Buddhist Sects; Buddhapriya; Later Development of Zen; The Zen Masters; Fashionable Zen; Obaku; Baso; Rinzai; Zen and Art; and, The Rokutsuji School.Books on the Far East often mention a sect of Buddhism called Zen. They say that it was a "school of abstract meditation" and that it exercised a profound influence upon art and literature; but they tell us very little about what Zen actually was, about its relation to ordinary Buddhism, its history, or the exac...