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Anthony C. Yu, Translator of the Saga of a Chinese Pilgrimage, Dies at 76 Anthony C. Yu, Translator of the Saga of a Chinese Pilgrimage, Dies at 76
(2 days later)
The epic saga of a heroic Chinese monk’s pilgrimage to India with a Monkey King, a pig spirit and other disciples in search of sacred Buddhist scriptures was first published in 1592. The novelistic quest lasted 16 years. The epic saga of a heroic Chinese monk’s pilgrimage to India with a Monkey King, a pig spirit and other disciples in a search for sacred Buddhist scriptures was first published in 1592. The novelistic quest lasted 16 years.
Four centuries later, Anthony C. Yu took nearly as long to produce an unabridged, four-volume, 1,873-page English version of the monk’s mythological narrative titled “The Journey to the West.”Four centuries later, Anthony C. Yu took nearly as long to produce an unabridged, four-volume, 1,873-page English version of the monk’s mythological narrative titled “The Journey to the West.”
“I beat the fictional monk by six months in my own pilgrimage,” Professor Yu said.“I beat the fictional monk by six months in my own pilgrimage,” Professor Yu said.
The fruit of that endeavor was what Professor David Lattimore of Brown University called “one of the great ventures of our time in humanistic translation and publication.” The fruit of that endeavor was what Prof. David Lattimore of Brown University called “one of the great ventures of our time in humanistic translation and publication.”
Professor Yu spent seven years on the first volume, which was published by the University of Chicago Press in 1977. He finished the other three volumes in 1984, completed an abridged version titled “The Monkey and the Monk” in 2006 and published an updated translation in 2012.Professor Yu spent seven years on the first volume, which was published by the University of Chicago Press in 1977. He finished the other three volumes in 1984, completed an abridged version titled “The Monkey and the Monk” in 2006 and published an updated translation in 2012.
He died of heart failure on May 12 in a Chicago hospital, his wife, Priscilla, said. He was 76.He died of heart failure on May 12 in a Chicago hospital, his wife, Priscilla, said. He was 76.
Professor Lattimore, writing in The New York Times Book Review, called Professor Yu’s four-volume work “splendidly comprehensive” and “the most exciting translation of any book I have read in quite some time.”Professor Lattimore, writing in The New York Times Book Review, called Professor Yu’s four-volume work “splendidly comprehensive” and “the most exciting translation of any book I have read in quite some time.”
“While his translation does full justice to the adventure, lyricism and buffoonery of ‘The Journey to the West,’ ” he added, “it is completely sensitive to the spiritual content of the text as well.”“While his translation does full justice to the adventure, lyricism and buffoonery of ‘The Journey to the West,’ ” he added, “it is completely sensitive to the spiritual content of the text as well.”
Professor Lattimore said it “quite magnificently supersedes” a popular but heavily abbreviated version titled “Monkey: A Folk-Tale of China,” which, devoid of verses, was first translated into English by Arthur Waley in 1942.Professor Lattimore said it “quite magnificently supersedes” a popular but heavily abbreviated version titled “Monkey: A Folk-Tale of China,” which, devoid of verses, was first translated into English by Arthur Waley in 1942.
Reviewing Professor Yu’s first volume in The Times in 1977, Professor C. T. Hsia of Columbia University said that until then it was assumed that Sinologists whose native language was English were the best translators of Chinese literature. But he concluded that Mr. Yu — who had written extensively on Western literature, taught the classical literature of both China and Greece, was trained in comparative religion and literature, and was endowed with “stylistic resourcefulness” — appeared to be “especially qualified.” The original novel, a classic of Chinese literature, is generally attributed to Wu Cheng’en and is derived from the adventures of Xuanzang (pronounced shwan zahng), a monk who lived in the seventh century. Reviewing Professor Yu’s first volume in The Times in 1977, Prof. C. T. Hsia of Columbia University said that until then it had been assumed that Sinologists whose native language was English were the best translators of Chinese literature. But he concluded that Professor Yu — who had written extensively on Western literature, taught the classical literature of both China and Greece, was trained in comparative religion and literature and was endowed with “stylistic resourcefulness” — appeared to be “especially qualified.” The original novel, a classic of Chinese literature, is generally attributed to Wu Cheng’en and is derived from the adventures of Xuanzang (pronounced shwan zahng), a monk who lived in the seventh century.
In his preface to the abridged edition (truncated from the original 630,000 Chinese characters), Professor Yu wrote: “Although the priest was by no means the only person who undertook such a lengthy peregrination in the cause of Buddhist piety, the records and accounts of his experience (by himself and his disciples after his death) encountered in Central Asia and in India made Xuanzang one of the most celebrated religious personalities in Chinese history.In his preface to the abridged edition (truncated from the original 630,000 Chinese characters), Professor Yu wrote: “Although the priest was by no means the only person who undertook such a lengthy peregrination in the cause of Buddhist piety, the records and accounts of his experience (by himself and his disciples after his death) encountered in Central Asia and in India made Xuanzang one of the most celebrated religious personalities in Chinese history.
“His own privations and sufferings during the sojourn on the Silk Road and beyond, his religious activities during each state thereof, his irrepressible spiritual commitment and stupendous scholastic accomplishments and the immensity of imperial favor bestowed all combined to transform him into a cultural hero,” Professor Yu wrote. “His own privations and sufferings during the sojourn on the Silk Road and beyond, his religious activities during each stage thereof, his irrepressible spiritual commitment and stupendous scholastic accomplishments and the immensity of imperial favor bestowed all combined to transform him into a cultural hero,” Professor Yu wrote.
Anthony C. (the middle initial was just a legal formality) Yu was born in Hong Kong on Oct. 6, 1938, the son of Pak Chuen Yu, a soldier who rose to the rank of general in Chang Kai-shek’s army, and the former Norma Sau Chan. When World War II began, his family fled to mainland China, where his grandfather would distract him with phantasmagorical tales about a wise monk and his spiritual companions drawn from the 16th-century novel. According to one account, Mr. Yu first read “The Journey” when he was 4 years old and learned Chinese when his grandfather drew characters in the sand with a twig. Anthony C. (the middle initial was just a legal formality) Yu was born in Hong Kong on Oct. 6, 1938, the son of Pak Chuen Yu, a soldier who rose to the rank of general in Chiang Kai-shek’s army, and the former Norma Sau Chan. When World War II began, his family fled to mainland China, where his grandfather would distract him with phantasmagorical tales about a wise monk and his spiritual companions drawn from the 16th-century novel. According to one account, Mr. Yu first read “The Journey” when he was 4 years old and learned Chinese when his grandfather drew characters in the sand with a twig.
“Pretty soon, I was crazy about the stories, and would badger my grandpa all the time, whether we would be in air-raid shelters or fleeing from some terrible dangers,” he recalled.“Pretty soon, I was crazy about the stories, and would badger my grandpa all the time, whether we would be in air-raid shelters or fleeing from some terrible dangers,” he recalled.
After the war, he remained with his grandparents when his father was posted to the United Nations in the Chinese Nationalist military delegation and until the family moved to Taiwan in 1951.After the war, he remained with his grandparents when his father was posted to the United Nations in the Chinese Nationalist military delegation and until the family moved to Taiwan in 1951.
He then made his own journey west. (In the book, the West is India.) He received a bachelor’s degree from Houghton College in western New York State, a bachelor’s of theology from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, Calif., and a doctorate from the University of Chicago, where he would teach for 46 years and hold appointments in five departments.He then made his own journey west. (In the book, the West is India.) He received a bachelor’s degree from Houghton College in western New York State, a bachelor’s of theology from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, Calif., and a doctorate from the University of Chicago, where he would teach for 46 years and hold appointments in five departments.
He rediscovered the novel as a young scholar at the University of Chicago when several colleagues encouraged him to embark on a fresh translation of all 100 chapters. He researched and referenced every poem, song and scripture in the novel and studied Taoist and Buddhist writings.He rediscovered the novel as a young scholar at the University of Chicago when several colleagues encouraged him to embark on a fresh translation of all 100 chapters. He researched and referenced every poem, song and scripture in the novel and studied Taoist and Buddhist writings.
He married the former Priscilla Tang, who survives him, as does their son, Christopher.He married the former Priscilla Tang, who survives him, as does their son, Christopher.
“In virtually every high-cultural system,” Professor Yu wrote, “be it the Indic, the Islamic, the Sino-Japanese or the Judeo-Christian, the literary tradition has developed in intimate — indeed, often intertwining — relation to religious thought, practice, institution and symbolism.”“In virtually every high-cultural system,” Professor Yu wrote, “be it the Indic, the Islamic, the Sino-Japanese or the Judeo-Christian, the literary tradition has developed in intimate — indeed, often intertwining — relation to religious thought, practice, institution and symbolism.”