No More Learning

I don't know which book would be ''Ta Pen Tang King Sse Yao'' or ''Ta Pao Lo''? Could you write down the Chinese characters? I see Mr Zhu often; he told
30 yang as pound's opponent and collaborator
me that he knows Comm. De Feo very well. He talked to him a very long time ago about cultural exchanges between the two countries, but now it's almost impossible to do this. It is not always true, as you said, that foreigners had to invade China to learn or take something from the country. For example, Korea and Indochina have absorbed Chinese culture without invading it. The Mongols once conquered China and they didn't learn anything of its culture. Culturally Japan has already learned a lot from China in the past centuries. Now it's invading China and the reason for invading is not that it wants to learn anything culturally but for imperialist purposes that can't be accepted by a Chinese who loves the independence of his country. Regards, Yang Fengchi]
14 EP to Yang (TLS-1; LL)
Via Marsala 12. 5 Rapallo 12 Nov. [1940]
Caro Dott Yang
Io sono d'accordo e rispetto profondamente vostro patriottismo e quello di
Chiang K. S. ma, d'altra parte mi pare che La Cina non deve NULLA alla Lega di Nazioni, che la Cina non ha fatto subito alleanza colle forze costruttive dell Europa Nuova/ vuol dire che il Giappone ha stato piu` scaltro nella scelta d'alleati?
Poi il sistema dell usura DISTRUGGE sempre ogni paese che lo tollera. Vede storia della Banca S. Giorgio di Genova/ che mangiava tutto. Vendeva la Corsica alla Francia etc/
Io non discutto i diritti della Cina/ discuto solamente la politica piu` adatta per conquistarli o di conservali. Giappone certamente non va a Pekino in richerchia delle cultura. Ma sarebbe piu` commoda per le Cina se il Giappone avesse invece invaso l'Australia?
Le CONTINGENZE hanno, forse, costretto Chiang K. S. di fare le cose migliore al momento ch'egli ha agito/ questo non discuto; solo me preoccupo di vederlo, forse, Wdare ad un sostegno di legno putrido.
Non posso GIUDICARE, posso solamente avere una curiosita`. La Polonia voleva conservare un modo di vita del seicento. L'Abissinia era nell'anno 400 prima del mille.
Tutto questo accoglienza dei b[i]anchi ''moderni'' nella Cina, fu forse neces- saria, visto le contingenze, ma ADESSO bisogna conoscere subito il sistema proclamata tre giorni fa da Hitler, gia` indicato da Funk e Riccardi.
Lasciamo da parte per il momento il Giappone, alla forza si contrappone la forza. Ma per AVERE la forza suYciente? In somma, non parliamo del Giappone, parliamo della struttura economica INTERNA. e dei rapporti fra la Cina e l Europa nuova. La velocita` degli eventi mi pare tale, ch'OGNUNO deve star sveglio.
yang as pound's opponent and collaborator 31
con amicizia, [signed] E. Pound
[Dear Dr Yang: I agree and I have the deepest respect for your loyalty to Chiang Kai- shek. But on the other hand it seems to me China owes NOTHING to the League of Nations. Because China didn't immediately ally itself with the constructive forces of New Europe, does it mean that Japan was shrewder in its choice of allies?
Besides, the system of usury DESTROYS every country that tolerates it. Look at the history of Banca St Giorgio, which swallowed everything. They sold Corsica to France. I am not discussing the rights of China. I am only discussing the most appropriate politics to win them or to protect them. Certainly Japan has not come to Beijing in search of culture. But would it be more comfortable for China if Japan had instead invaded Australia?
The CIRCUMSTANCES have perhaps compelled Chiang Kai-shek to do things as well as possible in the time when he acted. I have no doubt about this. But I am concerned that you might trust rotten wood to support you.
I can't JUDGE; I can only be curious. Poland wanted to protect the seventeenth- century way of living. Abyssinia existed in the year 400 before 1,000.
The acceptance of the ''modern'' banks in China was perhaps necessary given the circumstances. But NOW we need to pay immediate attention to the system Hitler proclaimed three days ago and which Funk and Riccardi have elucidated.
For the moment we side with Japan because force is needed against force. But how TO HAVE suYcient force? Anyway, we are not talking about Japan. We are talking about INTERNATIONAL economic structure and the relationship between China and New Europe. It seems to me that things are moving so fast that EVERYBODY has to stay alert. Amicably, E. Pound]
Banca S. Giorgio: a Wnancial power with its own army that took control of Corsica from Genoa in the mid-Wfteenth century. Corsica was annexed to France in 1769.
Funk e Riccardi: Walter Funk served as Minister for Economic AVairs in Nazi Germany from 1937 to 1945. RaVaello Riccardi served as Minister for Exchanges and Currency in Fascist Italy from 1939 to 1941.
15 Yang to EP (TLS-1; Beinecke)
Roma 14, 11, 40
Caro Signor Pound
Ho ricevuto le sue lettere e Vi ringrazio; anch'io Vi ho scritto, non so se V'e`
arrivata? Voi potete tenere tutti i volumetti che Vi ho mandato salvo quelli due sulla [sui] quali ci sta il timbro della biblioteca dell'Am[ba]sciata e Vi prego di ristituirmeli [restituirmeli] dopo avete letto.
32 yang as pound's opponent and collaborator
''The China Year Book'' dell'anno 1939 e` un bel volume nel quale si puo` trovare le materie piu` recenti.
Un documento governativo come quelle Memoriale di Tanaka e` una cosa importantissima nella storia diplomatica sino-giapponese; noi non dobbiamo dare lo stesso valore come quelle notizie del giornale le quale [quali], magare qualche volta dicono la verita (generalmente non [no]) ma e` una verita` mutabile e contemporanea. Dall'anno 1927 all'anno 1931 la Cina sequiva [seguiva] una politica pro-giappone se e` doppo [dopo] che ha interrotto questa amicizia? Voi dite che prima l'invassione [dell'invasione] il Giappone non non ha datto fastidio alla Cina; io vi dico che sara` vero se quest'invasione signiWca quel la volta del settimo secolo.
E daverro ci farrebbe ridere se un inglese sta contro La trasportazione dell'oppio in la Cina, pero dobbiamo sapere che oggi non e` il 1839!
Cordialmente [signed] Yang Fengchi
[Dear Mr Pound: Thank you for your letters. I also wrote you a letter, but have you received it? You may keep all the pamphlets I have sent you except the two which bear the stamps of the Library of the Embassy, and I ask you to return them to me after you have read them.
''The China Year Book'' of 1939 is a beautiful volume in which you will Wnd the latest issues. A government document such as Tanaka's Memoir is something extremely important in Sino-Japanese diplomatic history. We must not give it the same value as the notices in the newspapers, which perhaps sometimes tell the truth (usually not), but it is a changeable and immediate truth. From 1927 to 1931 China had a pro-Japanese policy; it was later that it broke oV this friendship? You say that before the invasion Japan did not give China trouble. I tell you that this is true only if you are referring to the invasion of the seventh century.
And it would really make us laugh if an Englishman was opposed to the opium traYc, but we have to realize that this is not 1839! Best regards, Yang Fengchi]
Tanaka: Tanaka Giichi (1863-1929), prime minister of Japan from 1927 to 1929, presented to Emperor Hirohito the militarist position that ''[i]n order to conquer the world, we must Wrst conquer China. ''
trasportazione dell'oppio: see Letter 109.
16 EP to Yang (TLS-1; LL)
Caro Dott Yang
Libro di Tanaka molto interessante. Ma da il 1927.
Via Marsala 12. 5 Rapallo 17 Nov [1940]
yang as pound's opponent and collaborator 33
Credo che Tanaka da` piu` fastidio OGGI ai giapponesi che ? ai Cinesi. Insomma, antiquato quasi quanto Imperatore ? Guglielme II di Germania. ?
Giappone mueve VELOCEmente ? Lunedi, Giappone, American canning factory. ? fabbrica Americana per conserve in scattola.
Giovedi, Giappone, stato corporativo.
Bisogna pensare: che cosa Giappone STA per fare/bisogna pensare: che cosa Giappone sta per pensare.
la CINA ? [? ]
Inghilterra per l'oppio, non solamente nel 1839 ma al congresso di 1923. Roberto Cecil impediva riforma. Sempre con espressione pietistiche.
Chiang K. S. eroe/ benissimo. guerriglia necessaria, solo modo possibile. assinare [assassinare] necessaria/ Ma NON VA, cioe ? non e` il futuro.
Io non posso comprendere contingenze/etc. accett[o] TUTTO che e` gia stato fatto sino ad oggi. Ma DOMANI?
Non e` questione di che cosa e` stato.
E` questione: che cosa PUO ESSERE alle ore 15 oggi alle ore 17 domani. League of Nations: porcheria, scrofaria. Funzione della Cina a Ginevra, per
quanto io ho potuto sapere: Ogni volta un delegato Cinesa parlava, ha ridotto al assurdo le pretesa ed ipocrisia d gli Inglese e loro fantocchi.
[signed] Ezra Pound
[Dear Dr Yang: Tanaka's book very interesting. But from
1927. I believe Tanaka TODAY is more bothersome to the ? Japanese than to the Chinese. In any case, almost as ? antiquated as Emperor William II of Germany. Japan moves ? RAPIDly. ?
Monday, Japan, American canning factory. ?
Thursday, Japan, cooperative state.
We have to think: what Japan IS ABOUT to do/ We have to think: what Japan
is about to think.
CHINA ? [? ]
England for opium, not only in 1839 but also in the Congress of 1923. Robert
Cecil hindered reform. Always with pious expressions. Chiang Kai-shek was very good. Guerrilla warfare necessary, only way possible. Assassin necessary/ But IT DOESN'T WORK, that is, it is not the future.
I can't understand circumstances, etc. I accept EVERYTHING that has already been done now until today. But TOMORROW? The question isn't what has been; the question is what COULD HAPPEN at 3 p. m. today or 5 p. m. tomorrow.
34 yang as pound's opponent and collaborator
The League of Nations: Wlth, pigsty. Function of China in Geneva as far as I have found out. Every time a Chinese delegate spoke, he revealed the absurd pretense and hypocrisy of the English and their puppets. Ezra Pound]
? ? ? ? ? : quoted from Mencius, 7. 2. 2 (Legge, ii. 478). EP's typescript for Canto 78 (Beinecke) has both the original and its English translation, though only the translation is printed in Canto 78/503:
In ''The Spring and Autumn''
there
are
no
righteous
wars
Roberto Cecil: Edgar Algernon Robert Gascoyne-Cecil (1864-1958), president of the League of
Nations Union (1923-45), authored The Way of Peace (1928).
17 Yang to EP (TLS-1; Beinecke)
Caro Sig. Pound
Molte grazie delle sue due magniWche opere.
Mi devo scusare se non posso continuare la nostra discusione perche` da una
parte ade[s]so sono troppo oc[c]upato, dovuto dall'apertura della universita`, e da l'altra parte non abbiamo l'aria adatta di parlare. Insomma, io posso dire cos`? : se oggi alle 15 il Giappone ritira le sue truppe dalla Cina, domani alle 17 noi vediamo la vera pace, anzi, la vera cooperazione fra questi due paesi. Se non [no], qualunque cosa conclusa sara` una cosa falsa e non durera`! Se e` diYcile a capire perche` la Cina non si mette d'accordo col Giappone, sara` piu` diYcile ancora a capire perche` i Giapponesi sono venuti in Cina.
La Cina non ha tanto Wducia per la Societa` delle nazione dopo la missione di Leedon. Come sono andate i delegati cinesi non sapevo, pero` ho parlato [con] qualcuno di loro che diceva [che] non c'era male.
A che anno si e` unito il congresso d'oopio [d'oppio] a Ginevra? Al 1925 o al 1923? Non mi ricordo chi era il delegato ing. , era Robert Cecil o Roberto F. Fitch? E` pec [c] ato che non c'e` nussun bolletino da consultare. Lasciamo andare le cose passate. Le vorrei dire soltanto che oggi questo commercio e` monopolizato [monopolizzato] dai Giapponesi soli nelle zone occupate.
Tanti Saluti aLei e la Sua Signora!
[signed] Yang Fengchi
[Dear Mr Pound: Many thanks for your two magniWcent works. I have to apologize that I can't continue our discussion because in the Wrst place I'm
Roma 21, 11, 40.
yang as pound's opponent and collaborator 35
too busy with the opening of the university and in the second place we don't have the proper atmosphere. In any case I should say this: If at 3 p. m. today Japan withdraws its troops from China, at 5 p. m. tomorrow we'll see peace; in fact real cooperation between these two countries. If not, whatever will have been resolved will be false and won't last! If it's diYcult to understand why China does not make peace with Japan, it will be even more diYcult to understand why Japan invaded China. China doesn't trust the League of Nations any more after the Leiden Mission. How the Chinese delegate did I never found out. But I have talked to some of them, who said that it was not bad.
What year did the Opium Control Board convene in Geneva, 1925 or 1923? I don't remember who the delegate was. Was it Robert Cecil or Roberto F. Fitch? It's a pity that there is no written document to consult. Let's leave out the past. I would like to tell you that today all trade has been monopolized by the Japanese alone in the occupied zones. Regards to you and your wife. Yang Fengchi]
la missione di Leedon: Leiden Mission. Roberto F. Fitch: UnidentiWed.
18 EP to Yang (TLS-1; LL)
Caro Dott Yang
Mi rincresce che siete troppo occupate etc. Sul Meridiano di Roma di oggi,
troverete qualche parola scritta con intenzioni amichevoli verso la Cina.
E credo che sarebbe possibile di continuare la discussione sulle pagine di quella rivista, presentando le vedute veramente cinese [cinesi]; se Voi e il Sig
Tchou [Tchu] avete voglia.
Un errore di stampa, non molte importante. Si deve leggere ''dai Bramini che
NON si oppongono agli usurai. ''
[signed] Ezra Pound
[Dear Dr Yang: I am sorry that you are too busy, etc. In the Meridiano di Roma you'll Wnd some articles written with friendly intentions toward China.
I think it possible to continue our discussion in the pages of this magazine presenting the true Chinese point of view; if you and Mr Zhu would like to do this. A printing error, not very important. It should read ''from the Brahmins who
do NOT oppose usury. '' Ezra Pound]
Bramini: see EP, ''I Bramini e l'usura,'' Meridiano di Roma (8 December 1940), 12.
Via Marsala 12. 5 Rapallo 24 Nov [1940]
? ? ? ? ? 36 yang as pound's opponent and collaborator
19 Yang to EP (ACS-1; Beinecke)
22 Maggio [May] 1941
Caro Sig. Pound
C'e` un articolo mio sulla civilta` romana, non so se potro` dare alla ''Meridiano
di Roma''? Sarei molto lieto se lei potra` presentarmi un posto su qualunque rivista di pubblicarlo.
Molti con [Con molti] saluti, Yang Fengchi
[Dear Mr Pound: I have an article about Roman civilization. I wonder if I could submit it to the Meridiano? I would be very pleased if you could Wnd space for me in any magazine for publication. Best regards, Yang Fengchi]
I Dio
Caro Dott YANG
20 EP to Yang (TL-1; Beinecke)
Sono molto contento del vostro articolo sul Meridiano d'oggi. Cosi le cose procedono in ordine; Prima l'amicizia; poi la politica.
Non posso capire che signiWcano le parole del nuovo trattato se ne [non] che il Giappone ritira la sua armata dalla Cina; come vostro desiderio.
Almeno con un tempo necessario. ed un po di tatto, delicatezza.
Nel frattempo spero che continuarete [a] fare capire ai lettori del Meridiano quanto profondo sia il pensiero, Anschauung Cinese, quanto parentela; e quanto commercio spirituale desiderabile.
amicizia
[God
Dear Dr Yang: I'm very pleased with your article in today's Meridiano. So things are proceeding in order, Wrst friendship, and then politics.
I can't understand the meaning of the new treaty unless Japan withdraws its troops from China, as you wish.
At least within the necessary time. And a bit of tact, delicacy.
In the meantime, I hope you will continue to show the readers of the Meridiano how profound the Chinese Anschauung is and how similar or related; and how desirable this spiritual exchange. Amicably]
Roma
[Rapallo] [8 July 1941]
yang as pound's opponent and collaborator 37
(TL-1; Beinecke): the original letter is lost. Our text is transcribed from its carbon copy (Beinecke). vostro articolo: ''Roma vista da un cinese,'' Meridiano di Roma, 8 (July 1941), 9.
21 Yang to EP (ACS-1; Beinecke)
Roma 5-11-41.
Caro Signor Pound
Ho letto gli ideogrammi che mi avete indicati. La vostra versione merita
elogio; ed ugualmente interessanti sono le note che ad essa avete aggiunte. Voglio sperare che continuerete ad occuparVi dell'argomento.
Quanto a me, sono molto occupato in un lavoro aYdatomi da G. E. Tucci. Cordiali saluti a voi e [la] signora,
Yang Fengchi
[Dear Mr Pound: I have read the ideograms you showed to me. Your version merits praise. Equally interesting are the comments you inserted. I hope you will continue to occupy yourself with this subject. As for me, I'm busy with something G. E. Tucci asked me to do. Regards to you and your wife, Yang Fengchi]
G. E. Tucci: see Glossary on Tucci, Giuseppe.
22 EP to Yang (TL-2, Beinecke)
Caro Dott Yang
Vi ringrazio per va/ cartolina benevola/ma la versione e` da rifare. Ero a
Roma senza dizionario, ed ho Wdato troppo a Legge; che era pieno di cristianita`, e che non ha guardato gli ideogrammi. Tre o quattro versi sono forse a posto ma gli altri sono a [da] rifare.
Ho visto (cioe` VISTO) l'ideogramma ''sincerita`''/perfezionamento o aggius- tamento della parola al pensiero/Il TIGRE [? ] e` importante/
ma io era lontano di capire la [lo] scoglia [scoglio]; e ho dovuto pensare mezza notte per arrivare ad un equivalente del fuoco sotto quello che Morrison chiama ''casa'' ma che sarebbe stato forse una tenda; e almeno una casa di forma poco svillupata [sviluppata].
Spero di fare un VERO lavoro prima di pubblicare il volumetto. Il collega Luchini e` un tesoro, che ha veramente scrupoli per la parola italiana. Sino
[Rapallo] 7 Nov. [1941]
38 yang as pound's opponent and collaborator
adesso i traduttori sono stato ipnotizzato [ipnotizzati] dal sostantivo, sempre cercando di legare l'ideogramma ad un[a] ''parte''/sostantivo; verbo, ajjetivo [aggettivo]. Qua l'italiano ha piu` possibilita` forse, che non l'inglese.
Cambiare ''processo'' a proseguendo e dove tradurrse [tradurre] si radica 'm [in] la mano che aVerra la terra e` la radice; la mano vegetale; non mano animale. Almeno, cosi mi pare/
E in un testo classico ed antico; mi pare che si deve conservare il senso originale degli ideogrammi; non cadere nel informe ed incolorito valore dato alle parole in un quotidiano di oggi.
Spero di rivedervi quando torno a Roma; ed anche d'avere vostro [la vostra] opinione sulla nostra versione. Facciamo adesso il Ta S'eu
Poi iniziero` il Mencio, facendo un libro alla volta. Per quanto vedo/ta [la] vera tradizione e` Kung/ Tseng/Mencio e [g]li altri sono irrelevanti; sovente inte- ressante, ma non la linea diretta.
Certo quel commento al Cap. V. e` fuori
che viene stampato
l'ambito etico. dove il Tseng manca
etc/ buon esito al vostro lavoro ed a presto, spero.
[Dear Dr Yang: Thanks for your beautiful postcard. But my version needs some revision. I was in Rome without a dictionary. I put too much trust in [ James] Legge, who was full of Christian terms and didn't look at any ideograms. Three or four verses are probably okay, but I have to revise the others.
I saw (literally SAW) the ideogram ''sincerita`''/perfection or adjusting the word to Wt the thought/
The TIGER [? ] is important/
But I was far from understanding the cliV; and I have had to think half a night to come up with an equivalent of the Wre underneath what Morrison calls ''house'' but was more likely a tent; or at best a very underdeveloped form of house.
I hope to get some REAL work done before I publish my little volume. My collaborator Luchini is a great Wnd because he is very meticulous with Italian words. Until now the translators have been hypnotized by the noun, always trying to link the ideograms to a ''part''/noun, verb, adjective. Maybe the Italian language has more possibilities than English.
Change ''process'' to continuation and one has to translate the radical: the hand that grasps the earth is the root; the vegetable hand, not the animal hand.
At least it seems to me like this/
And in a classical and ancient text, I think one has to preserve the original meanings of the ideograms, and not to follow the formless and colorless value given words in a newspaper of today.
I hope to see you when you return to Rome; and also to hear your opinion about our version. We are now doing the Ta S'eo. Then we'll start the Mencius, one book at a time. As far as I can see, the true tradition is Kung/Tseng/Meng. The others are irrelevant; they are interesting, but not in the direct line.
yang as pound's opponent and collaborator 39 Of course the comment that is printed in Chapter 5 is beyond the ethical scope,
whether Tseng is missing, etc. Good luck with your work. I'll see you soon I hope. ]
(TL-2; Beinecke): The original letter is lost. Our text is transcribed from its carbon copy (Beinecke). Legge: James Legge (1815-97), The Four Books (Shanghai: Commercial Press, 1923). EP's copy of
Legge's one-volume Four Books is kept at the Burke Library of Hamilton College.
Il TIGRE [? ]: Reference to the etymology of the character ? (consider). EP renders ? as ''keep his head in the presence of a tiger'' in The Great Digest (Confucius, 29). Cf. Canto 85/569: ''and
then consider the time j liu ? ? . ''
Morrison: Robert Morrison (1782-1834), A Dictionary of the Chinese Language, in Three Parts (Macao:
The Honorable East India Company Press, 1815). EP's and DP's copy of the multivolume
dictionary is kept at the Burke Library of Hamilton College.
Luchini: Alberto Luchini, cotranslator with EP of Ta S'eu, was then director of the Department of
Racial Studies and Propaganda under the Italian Ministry of Popular Culture.
Mencio: at the suggestion of Sig. Tchu (see Letter 49), EP moved on to Zhong yong, the second of the Four Books, instead. The result was Chiung Iung: L'Asse che non vacilla (1945), rpt. in Confucio:
Studio integrale & L'Asse che non vacilla (1955).
23 Yang to EP (ALS-2; Beinecke)
Caro Sig. Pound
Stamane quello amico (del ministero) mi ha telefonato dicendo che voi
volevate qualche idiograma cinese, ma non ho capito bene le parole quindi non ho potuto rispondere [a] quello che mi domandava ed ora non so, se voi avete gia` trovato sul vocabolario o no; se vi ne ha bisogno ancora vi prego di scrivermi. Il Sig. Tchu e` piaciuto quel suo libro di ''Ta Hsiao'' (? ? ) e vorrebbe ancora alcune copie <per gli amici suoi> e se non vi dispiace vi prego di mandarai [mandare] altre 10 copie quando vi e` comodo.
Tanti saluti cordiali dal Sig. Tchu e da me molte grazie e saluti cari, Yang Fengchi
[Dear Mr Pound: This morning my friend (from the ministry) called to tell me that you wanted some Chinese ideograms, but I didn't catch the words, so I couldn't respond to what he asked. Now I don't know if you have found them in a dictionary; if you still need them, please write to me. Mr Zhu liked your book ''Ta Hsiao'' (? ? ) very much and he would like more copies to give to his friends, and if it's no trouble to you I would like you to send me ten more copies when you have time. Regards from Zhu and many thanks, Yang Fengchi]
altre 10 copie: in a card of 30 July 1942 (Beinecke), Yang acknowledged receipt of ten more copies of Ta S'eu (? ? ) from EP.
Albergo d'Italia Roma 15. 6. '42.
4
Achilles Fang and Pound's Bilingual Confucius ''All answers are in the FOUR BOOKS''
Brought from Italy to the United States, Pound was pronounced unWt for trial and committed to St Elizabeths Hospital in Washington, DC. During his Wrst years of incarceration at the federal hospital for the criminally insane (1946-52), Pound was engrossed in Confucian translations, not writing any new cantos. Apart from making draft versions of The Analects (1950) and the Odes (1954), he prepared a bilingual edition of The Great Digest & The Unwobbling Pivot with reproductions of rubbings from the Tang Stone-Classics. It was Willis Meeker Hawley (1896-1987), a Hollywood bookseller and sinologist, who gave him the idea of the Stone-Classics. Pound had purchased Chinese books and dictionaries from Hawley, and in a letter of 6 October 1948, Hawley told him about ''some of the Chinese deluxe editions which are made up of rubbings from monuments on which the classics were carved in the handwriting of famous calligraphers'' (Lilly). Two years later, in August 1950, samples of the Tang Stone-Classics Wnally reached St Elizabeths (see Fig. 4. 1). When Hawley oVered to compose ''a one page preface or post-face about the Stone Classics'' (Beinecke), Pound chose to brush the proposal aside.
What Pound had in mind was someone with real authority to treat this topic. At the same time, a man who was ideally qualiWed for the task was also looking for Pound. That summer Pound's American publisher, James Laughlin of New Directions, forwarded to him a letter from a ''Reverend Fang,'' suggesting consistent and correct spellings of Chinese names in Cantos 52-61. On 28 September 1950 that man wrote to Laughlin again to inquire about how ''the remaining Cantos [would] turn out'' and if some of them might ''deal with modern China'' (Lilly).
The man who inquired about The Cantos was Achilles Fang (Fang Zhitong ? ? ? , 1910-95), whom the Harvard-Yenching Institute had hired in 1947 to work on a Chinese-English dictionary. Born of Chinese ancestry in Korea, Fang went to Shanghai, China to attend the American Baptist College before entering Qinghua University in Beijing where he earned a BA in philosophy in 1932. After
a. fang and pound's bilingual confucius 41
two more years of graduate studies at Qinghua, he joined the Guangxi Medical College in South China as a Latin instructor (1934-7). Having also taught German at two colleges in Beijing (Catholic University and Deutschland- Institut) and edited the Monumenta Serica: Journal of Oriental Studies of Catholic University, Fang was overqualiWed for the job (see Fig. 4. 2). Before long he understandably grew bored with the dictionary project and began pursuing a Ph. D. degree in comparative literature at Harvard. His chosen topic for a dissertation was Pound's Pisan Cantos.
Fang and Pound initially communicated through Laughlin, and by November 1950 Fang oVered to compose a note on the Stone-Classics for Pound's bilingual edition of The Great Digest & The Unwobbling Pivot (1951). After making a draft, Fang decided to come down to Washington to meet Pound. Pound was overjoyed. Fang's visit to St Elizabeths on 27 December 1950 was described by Dorothy as ''a pleasure--to both of us. '' It was a pleasure to Dorothy because she was relieved that after several years' isolation Ezra had ''somebody to talk with, who understood some of his problems'' (Beinecke).
This Wrst meeting between Pound and Achilles Fang was immediately fol- lowed by vigorous exchanges of letters. The extant Pound-Achilles Fang cor- respondence consists of some 214 items, 108 from Pound to Fang and 106 from Fang to Pound. Considering their massiveness and importance I have given these letters two chapters: the letters of 1950-2 are reproduced in this chapter, and those of 1952-8 are presented in Chapter 7.
Many of the early Pound-Fang letters concern the Stone-Classics edition of The Great Digest & The Unwobbling Pivot. They reveal that Fang contributed more than just ''A Note on the Stone-Classics'' (Confucius, 11-15), which Pound found ''very well written'' (Letter 46). During their Wrst meeting, Fang handed over to Pound a list of recommended changes in the romanization of Chinese names. Pound accepted them, conceding that they would ''Wt without ruining sonor- ity'' (Letter 27). As the edition was more complex than any other Pound books he had handled, Laughlin invited Fang to review the proofs, not only to ''mark in pencil the changes in spelling'' but also to ''examine the proofs of the facing Chinese characters and see whether they were all right, and whether they were lined up properly'' (Beinecke). Fang graciously complied with the request, a relief for both Laughlin and Pound.
The letters tell us a great deal about Pound's Confucian studies at St Elizabeths. As a fervent book collector, Fang took pleasure in sharing his own copies of Chinese classics with Pound. (Before his death Fang willed his collection to Beijing University, with an initial shipment of some 5,000 volumes. ) Among those texts he sent Pound was Shu jing (Book of History) in the original, a source of Rock-Drill (1955), and at Pound's request Fang gave him an account of the ''Thirteen Classics. '' After reading through some of these volumes, Pound
42 a. fang and pound's bilingual confucius
came to a conclusion, which he repeated again and again in subsequent letters: ''All the answers are in the FOUR BOOKS. ''
As a scholar Fang delighted in discussing Confucian terminologies with Pound. The two usually disagreed with each other on readings of Confucius and Mencius. Their debate on one issue could continue for weeks, even months. Occasionally Pound's interpretation would strike Fang as brilliant. One such example is Pound's deWnition of the Confucian word zhi ? , which prompted Fang to say: ''your interpretation of ? seems to solve a number of knotty problems in Kung's book'' (Letter 30). The exchanges between Pound and Fang on concepts such as jing ? (respect) and ''four TUAN'' ? ? (four virtuous beginnings of human nature) may appear tedious, but they have a bearing on Pound's late cantos. When read in conjunction with Letters 42, 44, and 58, Pound's uses of the ''four TUAN'' in Cantos 85, 89, and 99 recall and intensify his earlier references to the Confucian belief in ren ? or virtuous human nature.
As a dictionary compiler, Fang was able to answer Pound's trying queries about Chinese dictionaries, evaluating in speciWc terms their respective strengths and weaknesses. From the beginning Pound surprised Fang with his insight into the reorganization (in the seventeenth century) of Chinese diction- aries from a 540-root (radical) system to a 214-root system. For him the change was ''one of [the] greatest intellectual acts in all history'' (Letter 29). At Pound's urging, Fang investigated the development of Chinese dictionaries from Shuo- wen (100-21 ad) to Kangxi (1716), resulting in a working bibliography that illuminates the organizational changes (Letter 57).
Pound was of course curious to know what Fang might think of Fenollosa's essay ''re/ the chinkese langwidG OR ideogram which is fer somethings the most precise and, in fact, only satisfactory medium for making certain statements'' (Letter 37). His own view on the Fenollosan approach had under- gone some noticeable transformation. With Mathews' Chinese-English Dictionary he was able to study Chinese sound, even its tone. He would rhyme Chinese syllables with English syllables in Thrones (1959). In one of his letters to Fang, he wrote: ''For years I never made ANY attempt to hitch ANY sound to the ideograms/content with the meaning and the visual form'' (Letter 56).
The exchanges between Pound and Fang in 1950-2 encouraged them to continue their work together.