Burton Dewitt Watson (June 13, 1925April 1, 2017) was an American sinologist, translator, and writer known for his English translations of Chinese and

Japanese literature Japanese literature throughout most of its history has been influenced by cultural contact with neighboring Asian literatures, most notably China and its literature. Early texts were often written in pure Classical Chinese or , a Chinese-Japan ...

.Stirling 2006, pg. 92 Watson's translations received many awards, including the Gold Medal Award of the Translation Center at Columbia University in 1979, the

PEN Translation Prize The PEN Translation Prize (formerly known as the PEN/Book-of-the-Month Club Translation Prize through 2008) is an annual award given by PEN America (formerly PEN American Center) to outstanding translations into the English language. It has been p ...

in 1982 for his translation with Hiroaki Sato of ''From the Country of Eight Islands: An Anthology of Japanese Poetry'', and again in 1995 for ''Selected Poems of

Su Tung-p'o Su Shi (; 8 January 1037 – 24 August 1101), courtesy name Zizhan (), art name Dongpo (), was a Chinese calligrapher, essayist, gastronomer, pharmacologist, poet, politician, and travel writer during the Song dynasty. A major personality of ...

''. In 2015, at age 88, Watson was awarded the PEN/Ralph Manheim Medal for Translation for his long and prolific translation career.

Life and career

Burton Watson was born on June 13, 1925, in

New Rochelle, New York New Rochelle (; older french: La Nouvelle-Rochelle) is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the southeastern portion of the state. In 2020, the city had a population of 79,726, making it the seventh-largest in the state of ...

, where his father was a hotel manager. In 1943, at age 17, Watson dropped out of high school to join the U.S. Navy, and was stationed on repair vessels in the South Pacific during the final years of the Pacific Theatre of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. His ship was in the

Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands ( mh, Ṃajeḷ), officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands ( mh, Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ),'' () is an independent island country and microstate near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the Internati ...

when the war ended in August 1945, and on September 20, 1945 it sailed to Japan to anchor at the Yokosuka Naval Base, where Watson had his first direct experiences with Japan and East Asia. As he recounts in ''Rainbow World'', on his first shore leave, he and his shipmates encountered a stone in Tokyo with musical notation on it; they sang the melody, as best they could. Some months later, Watson realized that he had been in Hibiya Park and that the song was ''"

Kimigayo is the national anthem of Japan. The lyrics are from a ' poem written by an unnamed author in the Heian period (794–1185), and the current melody was chosen in 1880, replacing an unpopular melody composed by John William Fenton eleven years ...

"''. Watson left Japan in February 1946, was discharged from the Navy, and was accepted into

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manha ...

on the G.I. Bill, where he majored in Chinese. His main Chinese teachers were the American Sinologist L. Carrington Goodrich and the Chinese scholar Wang Chi-chen. At that time, most of the Chinese curriculum focused on learning to read

Chinese characters Chinese characters () are logograms developed for the writing of Chinese. In addition, they have been adapted to write other East Asian languages, and remain a key component of the Japanese writing system where they are known as '' kan ...

and Chinese literature, as it was assumed that any "serious students" could later learn to actually speak Chinese by going to China. He also took one year of Japanese. Watson spent five years studying at Columbia, earning a B.A. in 1949 and an M.A. in 1951. After receiving his master's degree, Watson hoped to move to China for further study, but the

Communist Party of China The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Civil ...

who had taken control of China in 1949 with their victory in the

Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on main ...

had closed the country to Americans. He was unable to find any positions in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northe ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

, and so moved to Japan using the last of his GI savings. Once there, he secured two positions in Kyoto: as an English teacher at

Doshisha University , mottoeng = Truth shall make you free , tagline = , established = Founded 1875,Chartered 1920 , vision = , type = Private , affiliation = , calendar = , endowment = €1 ...

, and as graduate student and a research assistant to Professor Yoshikawa Kōjirō of the Chinese Language and Literature at

Kyoto University , mottoeng = Freedom of academic culture , established = , type = Public (National) , endowment = ¥ 316 billion (2.4 billion USD) , faculty = 3,480 (Teaching Staff) , administrative_staff = 3,978 (Total Staff) , students = 22 ...

. His combined salary, including tutoring English several evenings per week, was about $50 per month, and so he lived much like other Japanese graduate students. In 1952, he was able to resign his position at Doshisha, thanks to Columbia University stipend for ''Sources in Chinese Tradition'', and later in the year, a position as a Ford Foundation Overseas Fellow. Although he had long been interested in translating poetry, his first significant translations were of '' kanshi'' (poems in Chinese written by Japanese), made in 1954 for

Donald Keene Donald Lawrence Keene (June 18, 1922 – February 24, 2019) was an American-born Japanese scholar, historian, teacher, writer and translator of Japanese literature. Keene was University Professor emeritus and Shincho Professor Emeritus of Japan ...

, who was compiling an anthology of Japanese literature. A few years later, he sent some translations of early Chinese poems from the ''Yutai Xinyong'' to

Ezra Pound Ezra Weston Loomis Pound (30 October 1885 – 1 November 1972) was an expatriate American poet and critic, a major figure in the early modernist poetry movement, and a fascist collaborator in Italy during World War II. His works includ ...

for comment; Pound replied but did not critique the translations. In subsequent years, Watson became friends with

Gary Snyder Gary Snyder (born May 8, 1930) is an American poet, essayist, lecturer, and environmental activist. His early poetry has been associated with the Beat Generation and the San Francisco Renaissance and he has been described as the "poet laureate o ...

, who lived in Kyoto in the 1950s, and through him Cid Corman and

Allen Ginsberg Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of the Beat Genera ...

. In 1956 he earned a Ph.D. from Columbia with a

doctoral dissertation A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144 ...

on 1st century BC historian Sima Qian entitled "Ssu-ma Ch'ien: The Historian and His Work". He then worked as a member of Ruth Fuller Sasaki's team translating Buddhist texts into English, under the auspices of the Columbia University Committee on Oriental Studies., returning to Columbia in August 1961. He subsequently taught at Columbia and Stanford as a professor of Chinese. He and colleague Professor

frequently participated in the seminars of William Theodore de Bary given to students at Columbia University. Watson moved to Japan in 1973, where he remained for the rest of his life, and devoted much of his time to translation, both of literary works, and of more routine texts such as advertisements, instruction manuals, and so forth. He never married, but was in a long-term relationship with his partner Norio Hayashi. He stated, in an interview with John Balcom, that his translations of Chinese poetry were greatly influenced by the translations of Pound and Arthur Waley, particularly Waley. While in Japan, he took up

Zen Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...

meditation and kōan study. Although he worked as a translator for the Soka Gakkai, a Japanese Buddhist organization, he was not a follower of the

Nichiren Nichiren (16 February 1222 – 13 October 1282) was a Japanese Buddhist priest and philosopher of the Kamakura period. Nichiren declared that the Lotus Sutra alone contains the highest truth of Buddhist teachings suited for the Third Age of ...

school of Buddhism or a member of the Soka Gakkai. Despite his extensive activity in translating ancient Chinese texts, his first time in China was a three-week trip in the summer of 1983, with expenses paid by the Soka Gakkai. Watson died on April 1, 2017, aged 91, at the Hatsutomi Hospital in Kamagaya, Japan.

Translations

Translations from Chinese include: * ''The Lotus Sutra and Its Opening and Closing Sutras'', Soka Gakkai, 2009 * ''Late Poems of Lu You'', Ahadada Books, 2007 * '' Analects of Confucius'', 2007 * ''The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings'', 2004 * '' The Selected Poems of Du Fu'', 2002 * '' Vimalakirti Sutra'', New York: Columbia University Press 1996 * ''Selected Poems of Su Tung-P'o'', Copper Canyon Press, 1994 * '' The Lotus Sutra'', Columbia University Press, 1993Deal, William E. (1996
Review: ''The Lotus Sutra'' by Burton Watson
''China Review International'' 3 (2), 559-564 * ''

Records of the Grand Historian ''Records of the Grand Historian'', also known by its Chinese name ''Shiji'', is a monumental history of China that is the first of China's 24 dynastic histories. The ''Records'' was written in the early 1st century by the ancient Chinese his ...

: Han Dynasty'', Columbia University Press, 1993, . * '' The Tso Chuan: Selections from China’s Oldest Narrative History'', 1989 * ''Chinese Lyricism: Shih Poetry from the Second to the Twelfth Century'', 1971 * ''Cold Mountain: 100 Poems by the T’ang Poet Han-Shan'', 1970 * ''The Old Man Who Does As He Pleases: Selections from the Poetry and Prose of Lu Yu'', 1973 * ''Chinese Rhyme-Prose: Poems in the Fu Form from the Han and Six Dynasties Periods'', 1971 * ''The Complete Works of Chuang Tzu'', 1968 * ''

: Selections from a Sung Dynasty Poet'', 1965 * '' Chuang Tzu: Basic Writings'', 1964 * ''

Han Fei Tzu The ''Han Feizi'' or ''Hanfeizi'' (" ritings ofMaster Han Fei") is an ancient Chinese text named for its attribution to the political philosopher Han Fei. It comprises a selection of essays in the Legalist tradition on theories of state power, ...

: Basic Writings'', 1964 * '' Hsün Tzu: Basic Writings'', 1963 * ''

Mo Tzu Mo or MO may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Mo, a girl in the ''Horrible Histories (2001 TV series), Horrible Histories'' TV series * Mo, also known as Mortimer, in the novel ''Inkheart'' by Cornelia Funke * Mo, in the ...

: Basic Writings'', 1963 * ''Early Chinese Literature'', 1962 * ''

of China'', 1961 * ''

Ssu-ma Ch'ien Sima Qian (; ; ) was a Chinese historian of the early Han dynasty (206AD220). He is considered the father of Chinese historiography for his ''Records of the Grand Historian'', a general history of China covering more than two thousand years be ...

, Grand Historian of China'', 1958 * ''Chinese Rhyme-Prose: Poems in the Fu Form from the Han and Six Dynasties Periods''. Rev. ed. New York Review Books, 2015. Translations from Japanese include: * ''

The Tale of the Heike is an epic account compiled prior to 1330 of the struggle between the Taira clan and Minamoto clan for control of Japan at the end of the 12th century in the Genpei War (1180–1185). Heike () refers to the Taira (), ''hei'' being the ''on ...

'', 2006 * ''For All My Walking: Free-Verse Haiku of Taneda Santōka with Excerpts from His Diaries'', 2004 * ''The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin'', vol 1 in 1999 and vol 2 in 2006 * '' The Wild Geese'' (''Gan'', by Mori Ōgai), 1995 * ''

Saigyō was a famous Japanese people, Japanese Japanese poetry, poet of the late Heian period, Heian and early Kamakura period. Biography Born in Kyoto to a noble family, he lived during the traumatic transition of power between the old court nobles a ...

: Poems of a Mountain Home'', 1991 * ''The Flower of Chinese Buddhism'' (''Zoku Watakushi no Bukkyō-kan'', by

Ikeda Daisaku is a Japanese Buddhist philosopher, educator, author, and nuclear disarmament advocate. He served as the third president and then honorary president of the Soka Gakkai, the largest of Japan's new religious movements. Ikeda is the founding pres ...

), 1984 * ''Grass Hill: Poems and Prose by the Japanese Monk Gensei'', 1983 * '' Ryōkan: Zen Monk-Poet of Japan'', 1977 * ''Buddhism: The First Millennium'' (''Watakushi no Bukkyō-kan'', by

), 1977 * ''The Living Buddha'' (''Watakushi no Shakuson-kan'', by

), 1976 Many of Watson's translations have been published through the

Columbia University Press Columbia University Press is a university press based in New York City, and affiliated with Columbia University. It is currently directed by Jennifer Crewe (2014–present) and publishes titles in the humanities and sciences, including the fi ...

Notes

References

* *Watson, Burton. ''The Rainbow World: Japan in Essays and Translations'' (1990) Broken Moon Press. *Halper, Jon, ed. ''Gary Snyder: Dimensions of a Life'' (1991) Sierra Club Books. *Stirling, Isabel. "Zen Pioneer: The Life & Works of Ruth Fuller Sasaki" (2006) Shoemaker & Hoard. *Kyger, Joanne. "Strange Big Moon: The Japan and India Journals: 1960-1964" (2000) North Atlantic Books. .

External links

Biographical sketch

Burton Watson Obituary (Paid NYT Death Notice)

Burton Watson reading from ''The Old Man Who Does As He Pleases''
* Lucas Klein
Not Altogether an Illusion: Translation and Translucence in the Work of Burton Watson

World Literature Today ''World Literature Today'' is an American magazine of international literature and culture, published at the University of Oklahoma. The stated goal of the magazine is to publish international essays, poetry, fiction, interviews, and book review ...

(May–August 2004). {{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Burton 1925 births 2017 deaths 20th-century American writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers Academics from New York (state) American expatriate academics American expatriates in Japan American sinologists American translators Chinese–English translators Columbia College (New York) alumni Japanese–English translators Writers from Chiba Prefecture Writers from New Rochelle, New York United States Navy personnel of World War II