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Eliot Weinberger
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Nineteen Ways of Looking at Wang Wei Paperback – October 11, 2016

by Eliot Weinberger (Author), Octavio Paz (Afterword)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 97 ratings
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A new expanded edition of the classic study of translation, finally back in print

The difficulty (and necessity) of translation is concisely described in Nineteen Ways of Looking at Wang Wei, a close reading of different translations of a single poem from the Tang Dynasty―from a transliteration to Kenneth Rexroth’s loose interpretation. As Octavio Paz writes in the afterword, “Eliot Weinberger’s commentary on the successive translations of Wang Wei’s little poem illustrates, with succinct clarity, not only the evolution of the art of translation in the modern period but at the same time the changes in poetic sensibility.”
Previous page
  1. Print length
    64 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    New Directions
  4. Publication date
    October 11, 2016
  5. Dimensions
    4.5 x 0.4 x 7.3 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0811226204
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0811226202
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Essential reading for anyone interested in translation."
― M. A. Orthofer, Complete Review

"There is a great profusion of Chinese poetry in English, and this fact is significant. It suggests that, despite all the barriers, this poetry does communicate, even urgently, to modern Western readers. Both the difficulty and the urgency are elegantly demonstrated in Nineteen Ways of Looking at Wang Wei. Weinberger collates and comments on a series of translations of Wang Wei’s famous poem ‘Deer Park,’ allowing the reader to see how even this brief poem―twenty characters, in four lines―contains endless shades of meaning and implication."
― Adam Kirsch, The New Republic

"Weinberger’s sensitivity to words and gift for clear thinking underlie nearly every page in Nineteen Ways...and he writes with erudition and charm. He sees lines of Wang Wei’s poems as 'both universal and immediate,' and he sees much else in human cultures in that same spirit, which I think is wonderful."
― Perry Link, The New York Review of Books

"Nineteen cheers to New Directions for reissuing Eliot Weinberger's Nineteen Ways of Looking at Wang Wei, first published in 1987 and hard to find since then. In this tiny volume, Weinberger examines nineteen different translations of a classic four-line poem by the eighth-century poet Wang Wei. The result is the best primer on translation...also the funniest and most impatient."
― Lorin Stein, The Paris Review

"Weinberger is like an ancient Chinese zither player, tuning lonely in the mountain overlooking the world."
― Bei Dao

About the Author

Eliot Weinberger’s books of literary essays include Karmic Traces, An Elemental Thing, The Ghosts of Birds, and Angels & Saints. His political writings are collected in What I Heard About Iraq and What Happened Here: Bush Chronicles. The author of a study of Chinese poetry translation, 19 Ways of Looking at Wang Wei, he is a translator of the poetry of Bei Dao and the editor of The New Directions Anthology of Classical Chinese Poetry. He was formerly the general editor of the series Calligrams: Writings from and on China and the literary editor of the Murty Classical Library of India. Among his many translations of Latin American poetry and prose are The Poems of Octavio Paz, Paz’s In Light of India, Vicente Huidobro’s Altazor, Xavier Villaurrutia’s Nostalgiafor Death, and Jorge Luis Borges’ Seven Nights and Selected Non-Fictions. He has been publishing with New Directions since 1975.

Octavio Paz (1914-1998) was born in Mexico City. He wrote many volumes of poetry, as well as a prolific body of remarkable works of nonfiction on subjects as varied as poetics, literary and art criticism, politics, culture, and Mexican history. He was awarded the Jerusalem Prize in 1977, the Cervantes Prize in 1981, and the Neustadt Prize in 1982. He received the German Peace Prize for his political work, and finally, the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1990.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ New Directions; Reprint edition (October 11, 2016)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 64 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0811226204
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0811226202
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 3.21 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.5 x 0.4 x 7.3 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 97 ratings

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Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
97 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Edwin Alvarez
5.0 out of 5 stars In depth look at Poetry and Translation
Reviewed in the United States on October 2, 2023
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Weinbeger selects a group of poets and sinologists all who have translated a timeless poem by Wang Wei. It is an exploration of voice and tone, and how one can critically approach Chinese Poetry.
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Paul Harmon
5.0 out of 5 stars More Ways of Reading Wang Wei
Reviewed in the United States on December 16, 2016
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The original book -- 19 Ways of Looking at Wang Wei is a classic -- and perhaps the finest available introduction to Chinese poetry, the Chinese language, and the problem of translating Chinese into English. Anyone interested in Chinese poetry must read it. It's short and profound. That said, this book extends the first by adding 20 additional translations of Wang Wei's poem. The additional translations and Weinberger's commentary are interesting, but don't really add much to the basic book. You must read one version or the other. If you've never read it, you might as well read the latest version. If you've already read the first, then reading the second is of minor importance, but still a pleasure
11 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars The problem of translation
Reviewed in the United States on May 5, 2024
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This is a critique more than an exploration, but a well deserved one. Working through the various translations of the Tang dynasty poet Wang Wei, it quickly becones apparent that Western language simply cannot equate to the simple natural poetry of the Chinese author. So, admist the occasionaly pendantic critiques of translations, a careful reader is introduced to the many hazards of attempting to speak for / as a culture that is not your own. A truly modern theme explored in a very thought provoking way here.
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Rhys
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book about process of translation!
Reviewed in the United States on December 5, 2018
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Used as teaching tool with creative writing students. easy to read and really opens their minds to the process of translation and what it really means to move between languages. Fascinating way to learn about the writing process and how we use language and expressions.
One person found this helpful
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Marty
5.0 out of 5 stars Required Reading for Expanding Your Idea of What It Means to Translate a Poem
Reviewed in the United States on February 6, 2018
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Should be required reading for anyone interested in poetry in another language. It's easy to find articles/reviews that compare two or three translations. Weinberger compares >20 different versions of a single Classic Chinese poem.
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T. H.W.
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on January 22, 2017
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A nice set of additions (the "with More") to the original edition.
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Maria Dolores Udina Abello
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on June 24, 2017
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A very interesting book for translators!
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Amazon Customer
1.0 out of 5 stars Supercilious and condescending approach by the author
Reviewed in the United States on November 22, 2017
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I have studied the Chinese language for four decades. I studied it in University. I studied abroad. And I studied it as a hobby. I think that the author does a very good job in describing how difficult it is to translate Chinese poetry. This particular poem is probably even harder to translate then many others. There are 19 translations of this poem in the book. This author goes out of his way to dismantle and attack every translation. I wonder what fluidity and command he has of the Chinese language. I would think very little. I was very disappointed with his approach because it was destructive and not constructive. While I understand that some of the translations take poetic license that is the nature of the beast in translating poetry. Frankly I was appalled by the tone of this author and his condescending approach as to the efforts of the translators while trying hard to portray himself as some grand expert.
7 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Rafael Aguilar
5.0 out of 5 stars Totally worth it.
Reviewed in Brazil on May 3, 2023
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It's a wonderful book for those who are interested in translation studies, and also for those enthusiasts of Chinese poetry. The analysis of Weinberger over the multiple translations of the poem is impeccable. I really enjoyed the book, and recommend it.
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Riley
5.0 out of 5 stars such an interesting approach to poetry and translation!
Reviewed in Germany on April 29, 2024
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This book talks about translation through 19 different translations of the same poem. It is one of the most interesting books on poetry and translation I have read and I keep recommending it to my friends.
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Pinxing
5.0 out of 5 stars Enlightening
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 21, 2020
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Enlightening . Can Chinese poetry be translated ? I learned I prefer to read the original text . Chinese poetry is very profound , layers of meaning
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Laurent Sauerwein
5.0 out of 5 stars DELIGHTFUL
Reviewed in France on February 3, 2019
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A delightful insight into Chinese poetry and the art of translation.
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Theodor Ickler
5.0 out of 5 stars Faszinierend
Reviewed in Germany on December 28, 2019
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Das bekannte Gedicht Wang Weis ist in chinesischen Langzeichen, Pinyin und wörtlicher englischer Übersetzung dargeboten, so daß auch jemand, der wenig oder gar kein Chinesisch beherrscht, sich ein Bild vom Ausgangstext machen kann. Die zahlreichen, jeweils kurz besprochenen Übersetzungen und Nachdichtungen vermitteln gerade in ihrer Vielfalt einen Eindruck vom Zauber dieser Dichtung. Auch wenn unser Verständnis zweifellos ein produktives Mißverständnis ist und bleiben wird, ist es doch faszinierend genug. Ein großer Philologe hat einmal daran erinnert, daß die Weltliteratur ihre größte Wirkung gerade in nicht besonders guten Übersetzungen erzielt hat (z. B. Homer, Shakespeare), und deshalb sollte man sich ohne zu große Bedenken auch diesem schönen Büchlein hingeben. Schade, daß es nicht mehr davon gibt!
One person found this helpful
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