Taipei, June 14 (CNA) Chinese literature is incredibly smart and not just an emblem, Stephen Owen, a recipient of the 2018 Tang Prize in Sinology, said in a recent interview with CNA.
"It's thinking, it's doing things, and those things are beyond some of the modern scholars who study it. It is really good stuff, and if you see that, you're very proud of it," Owen said.
The 76-year old American sinologist has been one of the most important scholars of Chinese classical poetry in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
A leading scholar on Tang poetry, he has written widely in other literary fields, and has translated important writings in both prose and poetry, according to the Tang Prize Foundation.
Through his work, he has brought not only penetrating insights into Sinology, but also a breadth of comparative applications and theoretical sophistication that have made his scholarship unique worldwide, according to the foundation.
"I spent many and most of my years in my career trying to show the diversity, the intelligence and the depth of Chinese literary culture," he said.
Motivation behind the translation of Du Fu
In 2015, Owen completed his six-volume annotated translation of the complete poems of prominent Chinese poet Du Fu from the Tang dynasty, which is considered a golden age of Chinese arts and culture that reigned from 618 to 906 A.D.
Describing what motivated him to do so, the sinologist said Du Fu was "somebody who looked out and did things that nobody else did, so he is a great poet because of his genius in a wonderful variety of situations, but you have to read a lot of his poems to see that."
"He really is a great poet and I really appreciate his greatness," Owen said, indicating that the translation work took him an immense effort to complete.
"When I look at the whole thing, I think people can actually now sit down and read Du Fu in English," he said, explaining that the effort was all worthwhile.
There are people who would not want to read it in Chinese, even though they're Chinese speakers, and so they might find it easier to read it in English, Owen added.
The sinologist, who had taught Chinese literature and comparative literature at Harvard University, said having a professional level of classical Chinese is not something easily achieved by someone who has not grown up in Chinese culture.
"You have to really work hard," he said.
The significance of the Tang Prize
During the interview, Owen described the Tang Prize as being of important significance to Chinese literary scholars because it picks up something that is not done by historians, adding that he is happy to know the field gets "recognized as something missing in the standard operations of history."
"It [the Tang Prize] is important, in a way it's an award for a lifetime of work," he said.
Looking back at his 2018 Tang Prize award, the sinology laureate said he was honored for the recognition of his work because it is something he loves doing.
That year, Owen was one of the two recipients of the sinology award, the other being Yoshinobu Shiba of Japan. According to the foundation, the two men were named for their outstanding achievements in their respective fields of China studies.
