Product Description: Lu Yu (1125-1210), whose pen name was "The Old Man Who Does as He Pleases, " was among the most prolific of Chinese poets, having left behind a collection of close to ten thousand poems as well as miscellaneous prose writings. His poetry, often characterized by an intense patriotism, is also notable for its recurrent expression of a carefree enjoyment of life...read more

Product Description: Pan Ku's celebrated and influential History of the Former Han has been a model for dynastic history since its appearance in the first century A.D. The narrative is rich in detail and characterized by purity and economy of style. Covering the period from 206 B...read more

Product Description: Gensei, a seventeenth century Nichiren sect monk, composed poetry in Chinese and was a leading figure among the literary elite of his era. "Grass Hill" offers translations of over sixty of these poems, as well as a dozen prose pieces and an extensive introduction to Gensei's work...read more

Chinese poems exploring themes such as nature, death, and politics are accompanied by essays tracing the development of poetry in China

A survey of Japanese poetry contains the works of over one hundred poets from the eighth century to the present

A vivid chronicle of events in the feudal states of China between 722 and 468 B.C., the Tso Chuan has long been considered both a major historical document and and an influential literary model. Covering over 250 years, these historical narratives focus not only on the political, diplomatic, and military affairs of ancient China, but also on its economic and cultural developments during the turbulent era when warring feudal states were gradually working towards unification. Ending shortly after Confucius' death in 479 B.C., the Tso Chuan provides a background to the life and thought of Confucius and his followers that is available in no other work. (view table of contents)

Product Description: Book by Sakunosuke, Oda

Product Description: Ryokan (1758-1831), a Buddhist monk in the Zen sect, was a major figure in Tokugawa poetry. Though a Zen master, he never headed a temple but chose to live alone in simple huts and to support himself by begging. His poems are mainly a record of his daily activities--of chores, lonely snowbound winters, begging expeditions to town, meetings with friends, romps with the village children...read more

Gathers two hundred poems by the twelfth-century Japanese poet, and offers a brief introduction to his life and the traditions of Japanese court poetry

Product Description: One of the most popular classics of Zen-Taoist literature--now in a fine-quality miniature edition. The legendary Han-shan (of the 7th-century), whose name means "Cold Mountain," has been revered for centuries as one of the great poet-recluses of Asian literature...read more

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