Millennia-Old Love Poems & Heart-Shaped Chocolates at Pre-Valentine's Event

Love poems don't expire, so some of the world's oldest love poems, translated into English, are likely to wow customers at the Burlgame store of Barnes and Noble on Feb 7, from 1:30 to 3:30 pm.

Local author Crystal Tai will present her new book, Timeless Passion, which comprises her rhymed English translations of love poems from the very first anthology of Chinese poetry, with the original lines and colorful illustrations included. Those buying copies of the full-color book will receive individually wrapped heart-shaped chocolates as gifts.

The following is an excerpt from the book introduction:

Poetry is a language’s dance. Just like dancing, which is not as necessary as walking but more exhilarating than walking, poetry is not as functional as prose but more expressive than prose. With fewer words, a poem can amazingly express much more than a piece of prose. That makes poetry the best medium for the expression of love.

Timeless Passion is a collection of 50 love poems selected from the oldest anthology of Chinese poetry, The Book of Songs or phonetically translated as Shijing (詩經). The 50 poems are placed in the same sequence in this book as they are in The Book of Songs, along with English translations that preserve the rhyme schemes of the originals. The anthology compiled by the ancient sage Confucius (551–479 BC) comprises 305 poems in total, all dating back to an ancient period from the 11th to the 6th century BC.

Instead of taking all the 305 poems from the anthology, this book has collected only 50 of them, because it is not meant for academic purposes. Illustrated with captivating color photos, this book targets the general public. It is supposed to be a leisure read or a gift for a loved one.

In brief, this book showcases 50 ancient love poems simply as what they are. The English translations are faithful to their gists, only with a little poetic license taken in order to follow the rhyme schemes of the originals. Please note that the translations are intended to be as close to the originals as possible, for the reader to feel their primeval passion, which hasn’t perished after thousands of years.

Envision a pristine river along which people walked, sang, and confessed love. That river, carrying timeless messages of love from generation to generation, will flow into eternity.

Note: Local author Crystal Tai holds a Master’s degree in Education Policy with coursework in Journalism from Stanford University. She has worked as a local news reporter, a communications specialist in the high-tech sector, and a medical interpreter. With exceptional bilingual skills, she has won two translation awards and written a historical novel, Marco Polo in Love, as well as a few nonfiction books that introduce traditional Chinese culture to English speakers. One of her nonfiction books is Insights into Suzhou Gardens, which provides in-depth but easy-to-understand cultural knowledge about what makes Suzhou’s classical gardens harmonize humanity and nature. One of her other full-color nonfiction books, Seasonal Living with Splendid Poetry, is in the collections of the San Francisco Public Library. Another nonfiction book she wrote, A Poetic Portal to Chinese Culture, has brought her a certificate of commendation from the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors for contribution to cultural diversity. Crystal's latest book is Timeless Passion, as introduced earlier in this article.