Inferno - The Divine Comedy

Author: Dante
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1997-04-01
Features: The famous epic poem The Divine Comedy by the Italian poet Dante, known as the "book that is revered but avoided," is widely known but rarely understood. The work adopts the form of medieval allegorical literature, narrating the author's journey through Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise while lost. The numerous metaphors and allusions in the work have deterred many translators. It is reported that from the 1920s to the 1980s, China produced six Chinese translations of The Divine Comedy, but most were only excerpts. The only two complete translations were based on French and English versions, with no complete translation directly from the Italian text ever available. Given that The Divine Comedy is a representative work that opened the Italian Renaissance and holds an important position in Western literary history as a bridge between past and future, the translation and introduction of this masterpiece were designated as a national key project in the early 1980s. In 1982, Mr. Tian Dewang, at the age of 73, took up the century-old wish of the Chinese intellectual community and embarked on the long journey of translating and annotating The Divine Comedy. During this time, he underwent two major surgeries due to adenocarcinoma. In August 2000, Mr. Tian, at the age of 91, finally completed the last part of the translation. Two months later, he passed away, having devoted his last strength to The Divine Comedy. Opening the commemorative edition of The Divine Comedy published by the Humanities Press, one is astonished by the sheer number of annotations. Statistics show that the annotations for Purgatorio alone amount to 340,000 words, nearly five times the length of the text, while the annotations for the entire The Divine Comedy reach 700,000 words, making the annotations themselves a scholarly masterpiece that reflects the translator's profound academic expertise and rigorous scholarly approach. Dante's The Divine Comedy stands alongside the epics of Homer and the plays of Shakespeare as a world literary masterpiece. The story of The Divine Comedy is told in the form of medieval allegorical literature, with the protagonist Dante himself traveling through "Hell," "Purgatory," and "Paradise." The work extensively reflects the social reality of Italy at the time, offering an artistic summary of medieval culture while also revealing the dawn of humanist thought during the Renaissance. Therefore, Engels called Dante "the last poet of the Middle Ages and the first poet of the new age." The content of The Divine Comedy is vast and profound, containing numerous allusions and metaphors, with both its philosophical depth and artistic quality surpassing those of ordinary literary works. Professor Tian Dewang of Peking University poured his heart and soul into translating The Divine Comedy over 18 years, creating the first complete Chinese translation directly from the original text in over 600 years. The annotations alone number more than 700,000 words, far exceeding the length of the text, clearly demonstrating the translator's profound academic expertise and rigorous scholarly approach. The Divine Comedy combines the elements of a masterpiece, a renowned translation, and a distinguished editing, making it a model work in the publication of foreign literature by the People's Literature Publishing House. In the 2003 selection of the "Sixth National Outstanding Foreign Literature Book Award," the The Divine Comedy published by the People's Literature Publishing House undoubtedly ranked first in the first prize category!