Songs from Xanadu

Crump presents the genre of san-ch’ü poetry in a lively and entertaining manner. Song-Poems begins with a brief survey of the origins of the genre and of its metrical intricacies and poetic conventions. Then, translating poems ranging from the Rabelaisian to the sublime, Crump explores its favorite themes: human absurdity, the poignant and comic aspects of love and desire, the futility of ambition, and the joys of rustic life. Interweaving lively translations of one hundred and twenty poems with discussion of their social and literary context, Song-Poems from Xanadu is a succinct introduction to the special pleasures of these lyrics from the age of Kublai Khan. The Chinese texts of all poems are included along with notes, appendixes, bibliography, and character index.