Must-Recite Classical Poems for High School (English-Chinese Edition): 40 Poems Translated by Xu Yuanchong

What is this book?

This is a bilingual collection of 40 essential Chinese classical poems, curated from China's high school required reading list. It includes celebrated works such as Book of Songs: No Clothes for Qin, Li Sao (Excerpt), River by Flower Moon Night, The Road to Shu Is Hard, Bring in the Wine, Song of the Pipa Player, and Nian Nu Jiao: Memories of the Past at Red Cliff.-36

Each poem comes with the original Chinese text, an English translation, and an appreciation section that helps readers understand its historical context and literary significance.

Why should you get it?

The translator is Xu Yuanchong. He is one of China's most celebrated literary translators. In 2014, he received the "Aurora Borealis" Prize for Outstanding Translation of Literary Works — the highest international honor in translation — becoming the first Asian translator to win it. His English translation of Chu Ci was praised by American scholars as "a peak in Anglo-American literary translation," and his rendering of Romance of the Western Chamber was described by a British publisher as "comparable to Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet". Nobel Prize judges called his translations "a sample of great traditional Chinese literature".-40

Bilingual format, multiple uses. This book serves readers who want to explore Chinese culture through its poetry, as well as learners of Chinese who can use the English translation to understand the original more precisely. For readers looking to improve their English, Xu's translations are a masterclass in elegant, faithful literary translation.

A broad, curated selection. The 40 poems span from the Book of Songs and Chu Ci through Tang poetry, Song ci, and Yuan qu — covering nearly every major period of classical Chinese poetry in a single volume.