Tso Chuan

Burton Watson is one of the world's best-known translators from the Chinese and Japanese. His translations include The Lotus Sutra, The Vimalakirti Sutra, Ryokan: Zen Monk-Poet of Japan, Saigyo: Poems of a Mountain Home, and The Columbia Book of Chinese Poetry: From Early Times to the Thirteenth Century, all published by Columbia.

• Introduction Table of Principle States Map of Principal States1. Two Brothers of Cheng and the Mother who Doted on the Younger 2. The Revolt of the Ducal Son Chou-Hsii in Wei 3. A Quarrel over Precedence 4. A Wife's Dilemma 5. Two Half Brothers Who Hurried to their Death 6. The Deaths of Duke Huan of Lu and Duke Hsiang of Ch'i 7. Duke Hsien of Chin and Lady Li 8. Duke Hui of Chin 9. The Battle of Han 10. The Brief Career of Yu or Duke Huai of Chin 11. Ch'ung-erh: The Years of Wandering 12. Ch'ung-erh: The Return to Chin 13. The Battle of Ch'eng-p'u 14. Duke Wen of Chin's Attack on Cheng 15. The Battle of Yao 16. An Inglorious Defeat for Sung 17. The Responsibilities of Rulership 18. King Chuang of Ch'u Asks About the Cauldrons 19. The Battle of Pi 20. King Chuang of Ch'u Lays Siege to Sung 21. An Old Man Repays a Debt of Gratitude 22. The Battle of An 23. The Death of Duke Ching of Chin 24. Lu Hsiang Severs Relations with Ch'in 25. The Battle of Yen-ling 26. The Siege of Pi-yang 27. The Death of Hsun Yen of Chin 28. The Assassination of Duke Chuang of Ch'i 29. Prince Chi-Cha of Wu 30. Tzu-ch'an's Government Policies 31. The Death of King Ling of Ch'u 32. The Death of Duke Chuang of Chu 33. The Battle between Wu and Ch'u at Po-chu 34. The Battle between Ch'i and Lu at Ch'ing 35. The Revolt in Wei 36. The Revolt of the Lord of Po in Ch'u 37. Attitudes toward the SupernaturalIndex

An elegant English translations of thirty-seven of the most famous narratives in Two chuan... Sinologists who use it to check the references to Two Chuan so abundant in later writings may be confident that this translation embodies the careful scholarship of this eminent translator of Chinese texts... Those who are simply curious about ancient China may now, through Watson's selections gain entry into a world that among all the writings from the periodis uniquely Tso Chuan's own: a world marked by an eerie mixture of court intrigue, moralizing, scandal, omens, and battlefield histrionics. Journal of Asian Studies