The Old Man Who Does As He Pleases

Lu Yu (1125-1210), whose pen name was "The Old Man Who Does as He Pleases, " was among the most prolific of Chinese poets, having left behind a collection of close to ten thousand poems as well as miscellaneous prose writings. His poetry, often characterized by an intense patriotism, is also notable for its recurrent expression of a carefree enjoyment of life. Burton Watson has chosen, for this volume, sixty-three of Lu Yu's poems that work especially well in English, concentrating upon those that provide characteristic glimpses of the poet's daily life. In addition to poems, Burton Watson includes English translations of excerpts from Lu Yu's famous Ju-Shu-chi (Diary of a Trip to Shu), written in 1170, which describes his experiences on a journey he took to assume the duties of vice governor in the province of K'uei-chou.