The Ugliness in Pound's Poetry: A Matter of Style or Ideological Content?
(continued)
<<Your point Wei often seems to be that what Pound sees in this double
connection is manufactured and false to history, far from what any
Chinese thinker of the time could relate to.>>
Which time are you refering to? And what Chinese thinkers? Many, many
Chinese thinkers, especially poets, dramatists, and even Confucian scholars
have written extensively on the degree to which history is manufactured and
falsified. This is arguably the main theme of Chinese historiography. One
of Pound's greatest defects as a "thinker" is his one-dimensional approach
to Chinese history (and toward history in general, I would argue).
<<We also know that Mussolini
and other fascists in power thought EP a mad man, author of obscure,
difficult texts -- the writings in themselves having no use for Fascism
but the man presented them with the possibility of a diverting
spectacle.>>
An interesting summary. But the fascist authorities put Pound on the Radio
for a reason, and Pound was happy to oblidge. I don't recall that Mussolini
ever said he thought Pound was a madman, and as far as the bureaucrats in
Miniculpop were concerned, there was severe disagreement as to what use his
work could be. Some suggested he might be mad, others defended him; and the
defenders won out.
Thus, Pound spewed out the equivalent of several hundred pages of prose over
the radio, which was pre-approved, and examined prior to broadcast. Much of
it was very abstruse, but none of it was found to contradict fascist
political principles; and much of it was directly supportive of Hitler,
Mussolini, and Hirohito. IF this were not the case, the broadcasts would
not have been allowed for such an extended period. If you have read the
broadcasts in their entirety, you will agree, I think, with the obsevations
I have made in this paragraph.
<<So, if Wei is correct in seeing a particular ugliness in the overlay of
Confucianism and fascism, the question remains: of what use is such a
perception? >>
If only this were a simple overlay. But that is not a valid summary of my
perception. At the risk of being accused of repetition, I will repeat it:
Pound's use of Confucianism is thoroughly intertwined with his admiration
for fascism. This authoritarian strain of his thought is not a mere
addition, but forms the ideological basis of his work. It informs, taints,
or affects virtually all his views on major social, political,economic, and
religious matters. The vast bulk of the Cantos is imbued with this
ideological outlook (as are all his major prose works, and many minor ones
as well).
To call it an overlay, is to mistake a part of the essential nature of his
work for a simple surface feature.
<<Or are we to take
seriously Achilles Fang's notion that EP is in fact a major figure in
the Confucian tradition? >>
Pound called himself a Confucian on countless occasions, and (strangely
enough) wrote more about Confucius IN AN UNCONDITIONALLY POSTIVE MODE, than
virtually any significant twentieth century Chinese figure. Achilles Fang's
notion is right, in this sense.
The fact that Pound re-wrote (or "translated"--I use the term losely) all
FOUR CONFUCIAN books --- (excluding Mencius--which he summarized in a prose
essay), the Confucian Analects, PLUS numerous other Sung Confucian texts
(and the Comprehensive Mirror, in the China Cantos)-- must indicate a STRONG
committment to Confucianism.
And we have not even seriously dealt with the issue of Pound's frequent use
of Chinese written chararcters in the Cantos, and in other works. This move
has both aesthetic and socio-political implications, which need exploring.
The use of Chinese characters, East Asian history, Confucian philosophy,
ethics, and metaphysics, are all central to and parallel with Pound's use of
Fascist philosophy, in even more ways than have been mentioned thus far.
Regards,
Wei
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