In 1972, when he was a doctoral student, he ran into a Chinese monk in New York’s China Town, and was introduced to meditation and Buddhist scripture. “Chinese culture is like a treasure chest, and I want to share with people the treasure I have discovered,” he said.
Since it was published in 2009, the Chinese version of the book has sold over 200,000 copies.įor his efforts in translating Chinese poems, he was awarded a prize for translation by the American Academy of Arts and Letters in February. He is best-known in China for his signature work “The Road to Heaven,” a book about his times in China’s mountains looking for hermits.
Porter has translated more than 1,600 Chinese poems and written a series of books about his pilgrimages in China over the past 30 years. The idyllic lifestyle advocated by Tao is what he has been pursuing for his whole life. “I love him as a poet, but I like him more as a person,” said Porter. The book records a tour Porter made last year of eastern China, during which he traced the footsteps of his favorite poet Tao Yuanming and another ancient poet Su Dongpo, who was a follower of Tao. On a visit to China this month, Bill Porter, a translator and writer who has dedicated himself to Chinese culture, introduced to Chinese readers his new book “Paradise of the Mind.”
A 75-YEAR-OLD American man and a reclusive Chinese poet who lived 1,600 years ago have come together in an unlikely literary romance.
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