Awakened Cosmos

A deep and radically original exploration of Taoist and Ch'an (Zen) Buddhist wisdom through the lens of the life and work of Tu Fu, widely considered China's greatest classical poet.A deep and radically original exploration of Taoist and Ch'an (Zen) Buddhist wisdom through the lens of the life and work of Tu Fu, widely considered China's greatest classical poet.What is consciousness but the Cosmos awakened to itself? This question is fundamental to the Taoist and Ch'an (Zen) Buddhist worldview that shapes classical Chinese poetry. A uniquely conceived biography, Awakened Cosmos illuminates that worldview through the life and work of Tu Fu (712-770 C.E.), China's greatest classical poet. Tu Fu's writing traces his life from periods of relative normalcy to years spent as an impoverished refugee amid the devastation of civil war. Exploring key poems to guide the reader through Tu Fu's dramatic life, Awakened Cosmos reveals Taoist/Ch'an insight deeply lived across the full range of human experience.Each chapter presents a poem in three stages- first, the original Chinese; then, an English translation in Hinton's masterful style; and finally, a lyrical essay that discusses the untranslatable philosophical dimensions of the poem. The result is nothing short of remarkable- a biography of the Cosmos awakened to itself in the form of a magisterial poet alive in T'ang Dynasty China.Thirty years ago, David Hinton published America's first full-length translation of Tu Fu's work. Awakened Cosmos is published simultaneously with a newly translated and substantially expanded version of that landmark translation- The Selected Poems of Tu Fu- Expanded and Newly Translated (New Directions).

“Hinton leans on Tu Fu’s finest poems to examine the fundaments of memory and identity, the role of generative emptiness in creativity, the way language both limits and liberates our consciousness, and how we make meaning in a meaningless universe.”
—Maria Popova

DAVID HINTON's many translations of ancient Chinese poetry and philosophy have earned wide acclaim for creating compelling contemporary works that convey the actual texture and density of the originals. The author of countless books of essays and poetry, Hinton has been awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship, numerous fellowships from N.E.A. and N.E.H, the Landon Translation Award, the PEN American Translation Award, and a lifetime achievement award by The American Academy of Arts and Letters.

This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.