It was Mid-Autumn Festival. 79-year-old Bill Porter (grab) a glass of whiskey while enjoying the full moon, and recited an ancient Chinese poem outside his house in the United States. Porter has translated some 2,000 Chinese poems English and published a series of books related to Chinese poetry and philosophy in the past decades.
"To me, the beauty about ancient Chinese poems is the lines of poetry are usually short, with five or seven Chinese (character). You have to read them many times before you can discover their inside meaning. It's like adventure. "Among Porter's favorite poets were Su Shi, noted for his optimism in the face of challenges, Tao Yuanming, an Eastern Jin Dynasty (317-420) poet famous for his pursuit of free spirit. (see) the Chinese poets as his dear friends, Porter once traveled across China to visit their former residences, birthplaces and graves.
Currently, Porter is translating more poems by Tao Yuanming, and his translation work Poems of the Masters (publish) in China soon. He will continue working hard to introduce the beauty of the (tradition) Chinese culture to Westerners. "The Chinese culture is like a treasure chest," he said, "I would like (share) the treasure I found with others."
