translations to the tanglish
Published by Math Paper Press
translations to the tanglish is a collection of the 44 greatest-ever poems from the tang dynasty and song dynasty, dodgily “translated” into (1) english; (2) 2021; (3) singapore; (4) a pandemic. so su dongpo never used zoom, and du fu never caught covid-19; so li bai never drank lagavulin and wang wei never went to little india. but hey, none of them ever spoke english either.
flip on, or scroll down, or swipe through. in a world where every other poem is about the moon, our modern moon is a smartphone screen – what we reflect upon, what brings us light, what accompanies us when we drink alone, and what we share with someone a thousand miles away.
the collection asks you to invite thousand-year-old notions of sorrow, angst, regret, ennui, drunkenness, homesickness, longing and laughter into a contemporary frame, and to see if these long-buried poets of long-lost dynasties can still entice a modern heart to choose to be lost - in translation.
Paperback: 140 Pages
Product Dimensions: 110 x 180 mm
ISBN: 9789811813450
translations to the tanglish is a collection of the 44 greatest-ever poems from the tang dynasty and song dynasty, dodgily “translated” into (1) english; (2) 2021; (3) singapore; (4) a pandemic. so su dongpo never used zoom, and du fu never caught covid-19; so li bai never drank lagavulin and wang wei never went to little india. but hey, none of them ever spoke english either.
flip on, or scroll down, or swipe through. in a world where every other poem is about the moon, our modern moon is a smartphone screen – what we reflect upon, what brings us light, what accompanies us when we drink alone, and what we share with someone a thousand miles away.
the collection asks you to invite thousand-year-old notions of sorrow, angst, regret, ennui, drunkenness, homesickness, longing and laughter into a contemporary frame, and to see if these long-buried poets of long-lost dynasties can still entice a modern heart to choose to be lost - in translation.
Paperback: 140 Pages
Product Dimensions: 110 x 180 mm
ISBN: 9789811813450
reviews
Reading this book was an *experience*. In high school, I was in special program where my afternoons were spent "studying" Chinese literature. Almost all of it were works like these. For various reasons, I didn't want to be there. 7 years on, reading it on my own terms with the added parodies felt cathartic. There were times when the poem flowed through my tongue without conscious thought, some dormant memory reawakened. Spotting how Ip makes even the original poems his own felt vindicating.
- Alicia from ricetwicethrice
To be able to fully appreciate the sharp-eyed and sharp-tongued satire in Joshua Ip’s very Joshua-Ip-ish collection, it’s pretty essential to dig up your old Chinese dictionary (honour your tuition teacher) and crack into the original poems. The beauty and subtlety of each carefully composed line, juxtaposed against Ip’s modernised ‘translations’ (in language, theme, and structure, as well as emotive effect) makes for a wild ride. ... translations to the tanglish is an entertaining read on so many levels, from making Tang Shi fun (at last!) to poking you into that uniquely Singaporean self-awareness that Joshua Ip is so good at. If you always hated your Chinese textbooks, well... this is adamantly NOT a textbook.
- Boey Meihan from BA Reviews
你可以说小叶子是在古今对话,你也可以说小叶子是以古典诗词为泉源,创造全新作品,丢出新的问题。...或许这样的“创”译能刺激一些英文读者转过头去认真阅读中国古典诗词(虽然没有证据,但我有点乡愿地猜测,周星驰电影《大话西游》应该也曾促使一些人找《西游记》原著读一读)。或许小叶子的这本诗集也能达到传播古诗词的功效。
- 陈宇昕,联合早报, “古典作品新诠释Singlish"创“译唐宋诗“
These are openly unfilial translations: some adaptations of Tang poems & Song lyrics to 21st century pandemic SG culture, others pretty much using them as a springboard to create something new & moving—note the use of Wang Wei to mourn Sakthivel Kumaravelu, victim of the Little India "Riots".
...A very ACS boy approach, as some fellow blurbers noted: rejecting the stentorian demands to respect our Chinese heritage, & cannibalising it on our own terms (nod to de Campos' Cannibalist Manifesto).
- Ng Yi-Sheng, poet
...so on point and relevant to present day society it’s unbelievable! ... f you are looking for a new poetry collection that not only will have you laughing at points but also has equal blend of sorrow, angst, regret, ennui, drunkenness, homesickness and longing then Translations to the Tanglish by Joshua Ip is definitely the collection for you!
- bookishpebbles
- Alicia from ricetwicethrice
To be able to fully appreciate the sharp-eyed and sharp-tongued satire in Joshua Ip’s very Joshua-Ip-ish collection, it’s pretty essential to dig up your old Chinese dictionary (honour your tuition teacher) and crack into the original poems. The beauty and subtlety of each carefully composed line, juxtaposed against Ip’s modernised ‘translations’ (in language, theme, and structure, as well as emotive effect) makes for a wild ride. ... translations to the tanglish is an entertaining read on so many levels, from making Tang Shi fun (at last!) to poking you into that uniquely Singaporean self-awareness that Joshua Ip is so good at. If you always hated your Chinese textbooks, well... this is adamantly NOT a textbook.
- Boey Meihan from BA Reviews
你可以说小叶子是在古今对话,你也可以说小叶子是以古典诗词为泉源,创造全新作品,丢出新的问题。...或许这样的“创”译能刺激一些英文读者转过头去认真阅读中国古典诗词(虽然没有证据,但我有点乡愿地猜测,周星驰电影《大话西游》应该也曾促使一些人找《西游记》原著读一读)。或许小叶子的这本诗集也能达到传播古诗词的功效。
- 陈宇昕,联合早报, “古典作品新诠释Singlish"创“译唐宋诗“
These are openly unfilial translations: some adaptations of Tang poems & Song lyrics to 21st century pandemic SG culture, others pretty much using them as a springboard to create something new & moving—note the use of Wang Wei to mourn Sakthivel Kumaravelu, victim of the Little India "Riots".
...A very ACS boy approach, as some fellow blurbers noted: rejecting the stentorian demands to respect our Chinese heritage, & cannibalising it on our own terms (nod to de Campos' Cannibalist Manifesto).
- Ng Yi-Sheng, poet
...so on point and relevant to present day society it’s unbelievable! ... f you are looking for a new poetry collection that not only will have you laughing at points but also has equal blend of sorrow, angst, regret, ennui, drunkenness, homesickness and longing then Translations to the Tanglish by Joshua Ip is definitely the collection for you!
- bookishpebbles