Stephen Owen, Recipient of 2018 Tang Prize in Sinology, Passes Away; Tang Prize Foundation Expresses Sadness
Stephen Owen, recipient of the 3rd Tang Prize in Sinology and a leading authority on Tang poetry, passed away on May 1st at the age of 81. The Tang Prize Foundation expressed its deepest condolences and respect for his contributions to world civilization.
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Central News Agency
(Central News Agency reporter Chen Chih-chung, Taipei 2nd) Stephen Owen, recipient of the 3rd Tang Prize in Sinology, passed away in the United States on May 1st at the age of 81. He was an authority on Tang poetry research, having single-handedly completed the translation and annotation of a thousand Du Fu poems, received the award in Taiwan in 2018, and was featured in a national language exam question in 2020.
Chen Chen-chuan, CEO of the Tang Prize Foundation, told the Central News Agency today that he had received notification that Stephen Owen passed away in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, on May 1st, U.S. time. The Foundation expressed its deepest condolences and regret, revering his contributions to world civilization, stating that his works would be passed down for thousands of years, and that it was proud to have awarded him the Sinology Prize.
Born in 1946 and retired from Harvard University in the United States, Stephen Owen was a leading authority on Tang poetry research overseas. He had over 30 specialized works covering early, high, middle, and late Tang poetry, almost all of which have Chinese translations.
Stephen Owen's translations and annotations of Tang poetry had a profound impact. In 2020 (109th year of the Republic of China), Taiwan's university entrance examination for Chinese language arts unusually featured an English text, mentioning Stephen Owen's translation of Du Fu's famous line "天地一沙鷗" as "In Heaven and Earth, a single gull of the sands," testing students' ability to distinguish between "domestication" and "foreignization" translation modes.
This question was widely considered a very difficult one that year, and it demonstrated to Taiwanese students Stephen Owen's translating skill in preserving the concise and subtle beauty of classical Chinese poetry, where "words may end but meaning is infinite."
Among the many poets of the Tang Dynasty, Stephen Owen was particularly fond of Du Fu, believing that Du Fu represented the highest expression of Tang poetic culture. He once single-handedly completed the translation of over a thousand existing Du Fu poems, publishing a six-volume "Du Fu Poems," which is widely used in academia.
In an interview with the Central News Agency in 2018, Stephen Owen humorously explained that Du Fu was the first poet in Chinese literary history to write about doubanjiang (broad bean paste) in his poems. Even in poems with serious themes, the connection with playfulness was close. This is an art, and also a good model for developing a life's ambition.
Regarding his self-chosen Chinese name, Stephen Owen explained that "Yuwen" originated from the Xianbei surname of the Northern Wei Dynasty, and the allusion of "Suo'an" came from the Analects: "Observe what a man does, and mark his repose." He preferred this "half-Han, half-foreign" name over a phonetic transliteration, and even passed this surname on to his son.
Wang Ren-jun, Senior Specialist at the Tang Prize Foundation, recalled that Stephen Owen possessed the romantic and humorous temperament of a poet, while also demonstrating a rigorous and respectful academic attitude and work ethic.
Stephen Owen was invited by the Tang Prize Foundation to Taiwan in 2018 to receive the award and had many interactions with the Taiwanese academic community. The most famous scene was in September of that year, when Stephen Owen held a forum at National Taiwan Normal University. The influx of teachers and students packed the lecture hall, with people even sitting in the aisles, just to catch a glimpse of the great master.
In that forum, Stephen Owen shared that the word he hated most was "tradition," which he felt finalized everything. For example, when reading the poems of Wang Wei, the "Poet-Buddha," people tend to look for traces of Buddhism in his poems, but in fact, no author can be described by a single characteristic.
He believed that research should "start small," beginning with the details of the text. Wang Wei's poems used many words that were rarely used by the aristocrats of Chang'an at the time, and could even be described as "vulgar" language, such as "ao" (坳) in "Mengcheng Ao." Wang Wei's poems contained many shadows of farmers, incorporating these people into his poetry and not shying away from using common language.
During his Tang Prize laureate lecture, Stephen Owen skillfully answered questions from the audience multiple times, which became topics of conversation in academia. For example, when challenged on how to translate Tang poetry without losing its meter and韵味 (charm), Stephen Owen humorously replied, "If you don't translate, you won't lose the taste." He added that the essence of many things is the same: if you don't go out, you won't get lost, but you'll always stay in the same place.
When asked a similar question a second time, Stephen Owen retorted, "Why do you think translating into Mandarin doesn't lose the taste?" He explained that language changes, and in fact, Tang poetry might be best read in Cantonese to be closest to the pronunciation of that era. People in Korea and Japan also study Tang poetry, reading it in their own languages, which are completely different from Chinese, yet it still sounds very beautiful. The beauty of poetry lies in its sound and imagery, and one should not be too constrained by linguistic and cultural boundaries.
At the time, Stephen Owen also humbly told the teachers and students present that while translating Du Fu's poems, he had done his best. Sometimes God gave him inspiration to translate beautiful lines, and sometimes he couldn't achieve his desired results. (Editor: Lee Henry Shan) 1150502
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(Central News Agency reporter Chen Chih-chung, Taipei 2nd) Stephen Owen, recipient of the 3rd Tang Prize in Sinology, passed away in the United States on May 1st at the age of 81. He was an authority on Tang poetry research, having single-handedly completed the translation and annotation of a thousand Du Fu poems, received the award in Taiwan in 2018, and was featured in a national language exam question in 2020.
Chen Chen-chuan, CEO of the Tang Prize Foundation, told the Central News Agency today that he had received notification that Stephen Owen passed away in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, on May 1st, U.S. time. The Foundation expressed its deepest condolences and regret, revering his contributions to world civilization, stating that his works would be passed down for thousands of years, and that it was proud to have awarded him the Sinology Prize.
Born in 1946 and retired from Harvard University in the United States, Stephen Owen was a leading authority on Tang poetry research overseas. He had over 30 specialized works covering early, high, middle, and late Tang poetry, almost all of which have Chinese translations.
Stephen Owen's translations and annotations of Tang poetry had a profound impact. In 2020 (109th year of the Republic of China), Taiwan's university entrance examination for Chinese language arts unusually featured an English text, mentioning Stephen Owen's translation of Du Fu's famous line "天地一沙鷗" as "In Heaven and Earth, a single gull of the sands," testing students' ability to distinguish between "domestication" and "foreignization" translation modes.
This question was widely considered a very difficult one that year, and it demonstrated to Taiwanese students Stephen Owen's translating skill in preserving the concise and subtle beauty of classical Chinese poetry, where "words may end but meaning is infinite."
Among the many poets of the Tang Dynasty, Stephen Owen was particularly fond of Du Fu, believing that Du Fu represented the highest expression of Tang poetic culture. He once single-handedly completed the translation of over a thousand existing Du Fu poems, publishing a six-volume "Du Fu Poems," which is widely used in academia.
In an interview with the Central News Agency in 2018, Stephen Owen humorously explained that Du Fu was the first poet in Chinese literary history to write about doubanjiang (broad bean paste) in his poems. Even in poems with serious themes, the connection with playfulness was close. This is an art, and also a good model for developing a life's ambition.
Regarding his self-chosen Chinese name, Stephen Owen explained that "Yuwen" originated from the Xianbei surname of the Northern Wei Dynasty, and the allusion of "Suo'an" came from the Analects: "Observe what a man does, and mark his repose." He preferred this "half-Han, half-foreign" name over a phonetic transliteration, and even passed this surname on to his son.
Wang Ren-jun, Senior Specialist at the Tang Prize Foundation, recalled that Stephen Owen possessed the romantic and humorous temperament of a poet, while also demonstrating a rigorous and respectful academic attitude and work ethic.
Stephen Owen was invited by the Tang Prize Foundation to Taiwan in 2018 to receive the award and had many interactions with the Taiwanese academic community. The most famous scene was in September of that year, when Stephen Owen held a forum at National Taiwan Normal University. The influx of teachers and students packed the lecture hall, with people even sitting in the aisles, just to catch a glimpse of the great master.
In that forum, Stephen Owen shared that the word he hated most was "tradition," which he felt finalized everything. For example, when reading the poems of Wang Wei, the "Poet-Buddha," people tend to look for traces of Buddhism in his poems, but in fact, no author can be described by a single characteristic.
He believed that research should "start small," beginning with the details of the text. Wang Wei's poems used many words that were rarely used by the aristocrats of Chang'an at the time, and could even be described as "vulgar" language, such as "ao" (坳) in "Mengcheng Ao." Wang Wei's poems contained many shadows of farmers, incorporating these people into his poetry and not shying away from using common language.
During his Tang Prize laureate lecture, Stephen Owen skillfully answered questions from the audience multiple times, which became topics of conversation in academia. For example, when challenged on how to translate Tang poetry without losing its meter and韵味 (charm), Stephen Owen humorously replied, "If you don't translate, you won't lose the taste." He added that the essence of many things is the same: if you don't go out, you won't get lost, but you'll always stay in the same place.
When asked a similar question a second time, Stephen Owen retorted, "Why do you think translating into Mandarin doesn't lose the taste?" He explained that language changes, and in fact, Tang poetry might be best read in Cantonese to be closest to the pronunciation of that era. People in Korea and Japan also study Tang poetry, reading it in their own languages, which are completely different from Chinese, yet it still sounds very beautiful. The beauty of poetry lies in its sound and imagery, and one should not be too constrained by linguistic and cultural boundaries.
At the time, Stephen Owen also humbly told the teachers and students present that while translating Du Fu's poems, he had done his best. Sometimes God gave him inspiration to translate beautiful lines, and sometimes he couldn't achieve his desired results. (Editor: Lee Henry Shan) 1150502
Choose to stand with facts; every donation is a force protecting press freedom.
Download the Central News Agency's "Firsthand News" APP to stay updated with the latest news in real-time.
The text, images, and audio/video on this website may not be reproduced, publicly broadcast, publicly transmitted, or utilized without authorization.