Yu's poetry translations offer environmental insight

How did poets from centuries ago see their environment? And, more importantly, what did they think about the interactions between people and the earth?

Western Washington University Professor of English Ning Yu sought to answer those questions in his new book, “Borrowed from the Great Lump of the Earth: An American Ecocritic’s Translation of Tang Poems,” published by Shanghai Press of the Classics. The book is a compilation of translated Tang poems with environmental themes.

Tang poetry was written in China during the Tang Dynasty, often referred to as the “Golden Age of Chinese Poetry.” Because of poetry’s importance in Chinese social life, there are thousands of Tang poems.

In doing his research for his new book, Yu read 45,000 new Tang poems in addition to the 20,000 pre-Tang poems he had previously read.

“I read my eyes out in order to understand them in this holistic view,” he said.

The unique title, Yu said, was borrowed from one of the famous poets of the Tang Dynasty, Li Bai. According to Yu, the title illustrates how Li Bai understood the earth as the ultimate source of literary inspiration.

“Li Bai did not see the earth as something that could be owned, instead he said that the land loans itself to people,” Yu said.

He found it astounding that Li Bai was able to come to this conclusion so long ago, and found it to be the appropriate title for the new book.

Yu has had a lifelong interest in Chinese poetry due to the influence of his parents and uncle, all of whom were professors of Chinese literature and were well-versed in Tang poetry.

While growing up in Beijing, Yu’s father openly spoke out against the Chinese Communist Party.

“That was not very smart,” said Yu.

As a result of his father’s attitude toward the party, Yu was not able to attend high school. Instead, Yu said, he continued his education on his own and with the help of his family.
Because he was not in school, Yu was assigned, by the party, to be a bricklayer. Yu explained that the job had long hours, few days off and low wages.

Yu said he began to wonder, “As a teenager, just how hard does one have to work?”

Yu’s question was answered, he said, when he read Henry David Thoreau’s “Walden.”

“It was a liberation! I can concentrate on reading, writing and thinking. That’s what I loved to do,” said Yu.

Thoreau’s book inspired him. He decided, “I am going to spend the rest of my life thinking about American literature.”

Not only was “Walden” an inspiration for how Yu wanted to spend his life but he said it was also what got him interested in the environment and eco-criticism in the first place.

In 1978, Yu was able to start pursuing his dream by attending college after China had started to allow young adults to go to college the previous year.

It was at this time, Yu said, that he decided not to follow in the footsteps of his family, as instead of studying Chinese Literature he choose to major in English.

“I choose the English department to get away, to rebel,” said Yu. “Because they [family] were such well-known college professors, when it was time for me to choose my major I didn’t want to live in their shadow.”

Now, after 22 years at Western, Yu said that it was very fortunate that he ended up here.

“Do you get a better lump of earth than this?” Yu said as he glanced out his office window with a grin.

As for the future, Yu has another book, “In Response to the Howling Monkeys along the Yangtze: An American Ecocritic’s Translation of 315 Tang Poems,” which should be out in the next month or so.

Yu said this book will be targeted toward the American audience rather the Chinese audience to which his most recent book was aimed.

Additionally, Yu said since the book has been released there has been interest from the University of Washington press in furthering the professor’s research into eco-criticism of Tang poetry. Due to the interest, Yu said that he has applied for two quarters of sabbatical, next fall and winter, in order to continue his research.

Yu offered special thanks to Western Washington University and the English Department for the leave they have given him for this research, without which, he said, none of his books would have been possible. He also thanked professors James Bertolino, who helped him revise a dozen poems, and Carlos Martinez, who helped him work through the entire book.