Burton Dewitt Watson (June 13, 1925April 1, 2017) was an American

sinologist Sinology, also referred to as China studies, is a subfield of area studies or East Asian studies involved in social sciences and humanities research on China. It is an academic discipline that focuses on the study of the Chinese civilizatio ...

, 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-Japa ...

. 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 pr ...

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''. 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

Watson was born on June 13, 1925, in

New Rochelle, New York New Rochelle ( ; in ) is a Political subdivisions of New York State#City, city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County, New York (state), New York, United States. It is a suburb of New York City, located approximately from Midtow ...

, where his father was a hotel manager. In 1943, at age 17, Watson dropped out of high school to join the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

. He was stationed on repair vessels in the South Pacific during the final years of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. His ship was in the

Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands, officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands, is an island country west of the International Date Line and north of the equator in the Micronesia region of the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. The territory consists of 29 c ...

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 Hibiya Park (, ) is a park in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It covers an area of 161,636.66 m2 (40 acres) between the east gardens of the Kōkyo, Imperial Palace to the north, the Shinbashi district to the southeast and the Kasumigaseki government distri ...

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 in 1869. W ...

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

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

on the

G.I. Bill The G.I. Bill, formally the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, was a law that provided a range of benefits for some of the returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as G.I. (military), G.I.s). The original G.I. Bill expired in ...

, where he majored in Chinese. His main Chinese teachers were the American Sinologist L. Carrington Goodrich and the Chinese scholar

Wang Chi-chen Chi-chen Wang (; 1899–2001) was a Chinese-born American literary scholar and translator. He taught as a professor at Columbia University from 1929 until his retirement in 1965. Life and career Wang was born in Huantai County, Shandong province ...

. At that time, most of the Chinese curriculum focused on learning to read

Chinese characters Chinese characters are logographs used Written Chinese, to write the Chinese languages and others from regions historically influenced by Chinese culture. Of the four independently invented writing systems accepted by scholars, they represe ...

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. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

in 1949 and an M.A. in 1951. After receiving his master's degree, Watson hoped to move to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

for further study, but the

Chinese Communist Party The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...

which 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 Nationalist government, government of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the forces of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Armed conflict continued intermitt ...

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. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

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

Doshisha University , also referred to as , is a private university in Kyoto, Japan. Established in 1875, it is one of Japan's oldest private institutions of higher learning, and has approximately 30,000 students enrolled on four campuses in Kyoto. It is one of Japa ...

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

Kyoto University , or , is a National university, national research university in Kyoto, Japan. Founded in 1897, it is one of the former Imperial Universities and the second oldest university in Japan. The university has ten undergraduate faculties, eighteen gra ...

, and as a tutor in English, giving private lessons. His combined salary was about $50 per month, and he lived much like other Japanese graduate students. In 1952, he was able to resign his position at Doshisha, thanks to payment from Columbia University for his work on ''Sources in Chinese Tradition'', and later in the year, a position as a Ford Foundation Overseas Fellow. Watson had long been interested in translating verse. 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 Japane ...

, who was compiling an anthology of Japanese literature. A few years later, Watson 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 List of poets from the United States, American poet and critic, a major figure in the early modernist poetry movement, and a Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Ita ...

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 ...

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

Cid Corman Cid (Sidney) Corman (June 29, 1924 – March 12, 2004) was an American poet, translator and editor, most notably of '' Origin'', who was a key figure in the history of American poetry in the second half of the 20th century. Life Corman was bo ...

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 Lucien Carr, William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of th ...

. In 1956, Watson received a PhD from Columbia for his dissertation "Ssu-ma Ch'ien: The Historian and His Work", a study of

Sima Qian Sima Qian () was a Chinese historian during the early Han dynasty. He is considered the father of Chinese historiography for the ''Shiji'' (sometimes translated into English as ''Records of the Grand Historian''), a general history of China cov ...

. He then worked as a member of Ruth Fuller Sasaki's team translating Buddhist texts into English under the auspices of Columbia University's Committee on Oriental Studies, returning to Columbia in August 1961. He subsequently taught at Columbia and Stanford as a professor of Chinese. He and

frequently participated in the seminars that William Theodore de Bary conducted at Columbia. Watson moved to Japan in 1973. He remained there for the rest of his life. He devoted much of his time to translation, both of literary works, and of more routine texts such as advertisements and instruction manuals. 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 poems were greatly influenced by the translations of Pound and

Arthur Waley Arthur David Waley (born Arthur David Schloss, 19 August 188927 June 1966) was an English orientalist and sinologist who achieved both popular and scholarly acclaim for his translations of Chinese and Japanese poetry. Among his honours were ...

, particularly Waley. He also took up

Zen Zen (; from Chinese: ''Chán''; in Korean: ''Sŏn'', and Vietnamese: ''Thiền'') is a Mahayana Buddhist tradition that developed in China during the Tang dynasty by blending Indian Mahayana Buddhism, particularly Yogacara and Madhyamaka phil ...

meditation and

kōan A ( ; ; zh, c=公案, p=gōng'àn ; ; ) is a narrative, story, dialogue, question, or statement from Chan Buddhism, Chinese Chan Buddhist lore, supplemented with commentaries, that is used in Zen Buddhism, Buddhist practice in different way ...

study. Although he worked as a translator for the

Soka Gakkai is a Japanese new religions, Japanese new religion led by Minoru Harada since December 2023 based on the teachings of the 13th-century Buddhist priest Nichiren. It claims the largest membership among Nichiren Buddhism, Nichiren Buddhist group ...

, a Japanese Buddhist organization, he was not a follower of the

Nichiren was a Japanese Buddhist priest and philosopher of the Kamakura period. His teachings form the basis of Nichiren Buddhism, a unique branch of Japanese Mahayana Buddhism based on the '' Lotus Sutra''. Nichiren declared that the '' Lotus Sutra ...

school of Buddhism or a member of the Soka Gakkai. Despite his extensive activity in translating ancient Chinese texts, he did not visit China until he spent three weeks there 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 Lu You ( zh, s=陆游, t=陸游, first=t; 1125–1210) was a Chinese historian and List of Chinese language poets, poet of the Southern Song Dynasty (南宋). Career Early life and marriage Lu You was born on a boat floating in the Wei River e ...

'', Ahadada Books, 2007 * ''

Analects of Confucius The ''Analects'', also known as the ''Sayings of Confucius'', is an ancient Chinese philosophical text composed of sayings and ideas attributed to Confucius and his contemporaries, traditionally believed to have been compiled by his followers. ...

'', 2007 * ''The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings'', 2004 * '' The Selected Poems of Du Fu'', 2002 * ''

Vimalakirti Sutra The ''Vimalakīrti Nirdeśa'' (Devanagari: विमलकीर्तिनिर्देश) (sometimes referred to as the ''Vimalakīrti Sūtra'' or ''Vimalakīrti Nirdeśa Sūtra'') is a Buddhist text which centers on a lay Buddhist medita ...

'', New York: Columbia University Press 1996 * ''Selected Poems of Su Tung-P'o'',

Copper Canyon Press Copper Canyon Press is an independent, non-profit small press, founded in 1972 by Sam Hamill, Tree Swenson, Bill O'Daly, and Jim Gautney, specializing exclusively in the publication of poetry. It is located in Port Townsend, Washington. Copper C ...

, 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 The ''Shiji'', also known as ''Records of the Grand Historian'' or ''The Grand Scribe's Records'', is a Chinese historical text that is the first of the Twenty-Four Histories of imperial China. It was written during the late 2nd and early 1st ce ...

: 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 * '' Su Tung-p'o: Selections from a Sung Dynasty Poet'', 1965 * '' Chuang Tzu: Basic Writings'', 1964 * '' Han Fei Tzu: Basic Writings'', 1964 * '' Hsün Tzu: Basic Writings'', 1963 * '' Mo Tzu: Basic Writings'', 1963 * ''Early Chinese Literature'', 1962 * ''

of China'', 1961 * ''

Ssu-ma Ch'ien Sima Qian () was a Chinese historian during the early Han dynasty. He is considered the father of Chinese historiography for the ''Shiji'' (sometimes translated into English as ''Records of the Grand Historian''), a general history of China cov ...

, 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). It has been translated into English at least five times. ...

'', 2006 * ''For All My Walking: Free-Verse Haiku of

Taneda Santōka Taneda (written: 種田) is a Japanese surname In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form t ...

with Excerpts from His Diaries'', 2004 * ''The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin'', vol. 1 in 1999 and vol. 2 in 2006 * ''

The Wild Geese ''The Wild Geese'' is a 1978 war film starring an ensemble cast led by Richard Burton, Roger Moore, Richard Harris and Hardy Krüger. The film, which was directed by Andrew V. McLaglen, was the result of a long-held ambition of producer Eua ...

'' (''Gan'', by

Mori Ōgai Lieutenant-General , known by his pen name , was a Japanese people, Japanese Military medicine, Army Surgeon general officer, translator, novelist, Japanese poetry, poet and father of famed author Mori Mari, Mari Mori. He obtained his medical l ...

), 1995 * ''

Saigyō was a Japanese poet of the late 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 and the new samurai warriors. After the start of the ag ...

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

Ikeda Daisaku was a Japanese Buddhist leader, author, educator and nuclear disarmament advocate. He served as the third president and then honorary president of the Soka Gakkai, which is considered among the largest of Japan's Japanese new religions, new ...

), 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 were published by

Columbia University Press Columbia University Press is a university press based in New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's la ...

Notes

References

* * * * *

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'' (''WLT'') is an American magazine of international literature and culture, published at the University of Oklahoma. The magazine's stated goal is to publish international essays, poetry, fiction, interviews, and book ...

(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