A Different Way to Look at Tang Poetry: Case Study of Japanese and American Anthologies

This paper compares the Japanese anthology Tang Poetry Selections (Tōshisen 唐詩選), with commentary by Takagi Masakazu (高木正一), to three anthologies of Tang poetry by American sinologist Stephen Owen, The Poetry of the Early T'ang, The Great Age of Chinese Poetry: The High T'ang, and The Late Tang: Chinese Poetry of the Mid-Ninth Century (827-860). Henceforth these will be referred to as Early, High, and Late. This paper will first discuss the history of the different literary environments these works were created in and how these differences influence each author's methods, style, and authorial intent; next, offer translations of a collection of excerpts from Takagi's commentary, with direct comparison to Owen in terms of factual agreement, selection of information, and framing; and finally, summarize and discuss the lessons about methods of representation of Tang poetry that might be learned through this comparison.