Cathay. Translations, For The Most Part From The Chinese Of Rihaku, From The Notes Of The Late Ernest Fenollosa, And The Deciphering Of Professors Mori And Ariga. Pound, Ezra.

First edition, first impression, of Pound's adaptations from the ancient Chinese poets, this copy exceptionally well preserved in a later glassine jacket. Pound's Cathay, alongside the translations by his contemporary Arthur Waley, were responsible for introducing the great poets of Chinese history to English-speaking audiences in the early 20th century. Pound's adaptations defined the wording and form of Chinese poetry for a generation of readers, leading T. S. Eliot, in his introduction to Pound's Selected Poems (1928), to declare his mentor "the inventor of Chinese poetry for our time". The collection includes adaptations of poems by Rihaku (Li Bai), who Pound pointedly notes "flourished in the eighth century of our era. The Anglo-Saxon Seafarer is of about this period. The other poems from the Chinese are earlier". Pound's modern English translation of "Seafarer", one of his best such works, is also included in this collection. Gallup A9 (1,000 copies). Octavo. Original tan wrappers, printed in black, fore and bottom edges untrimmed. With later glassine. A couple of leaves faintly foxed, else a near-fine copy.