It's interesting to compare the original version in Classical Chinese with the vernacular Chinese one.
The Classical Chinese version just sounds (err, reads) so much more awesome, like a smooth-talking wisecrack who can't be bothered to dispense extra breaths, while the vernacular version reads like a seven-year old's essay.
I always had the impression that Classical Chinese was painstakingly crafted and preserved by a small group of elitists obsessed with aesthetics and abhorred ease-of-learning. The ultra-minimalist syntax seems very "inorganic", but it makes every line poetry and invitation for puns. As a result, most people were illiterate, but if you were well-read, boy, the fun you could have with words.
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Here's the wikipedia entry on this poem along with the audio.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lion-Eating_Poet_in_the_Stone_D...
It's interesting to compare the original version in Classical Chinese with the vernacular Chinese one.
The Classical Chinese version just sounds (err, reads) so much more awesome, like a smooth-talking wisecrack who can't be bothered to dispense extra breaths, while the vernacular version reads like a seven-year old's essay.
I always had the impression that Classical Chinese was painstakingly crafted and preserved by a small group of elitists obsessed with aesthetics and abhorred ease-of-learning. The ultra-minimalist syntax seems very "inorganic", but it makes every line poetry and invitation for puns. As a result, most people were illiterate, but if you were well-read, boy, the fun you could have with words.