1. Burton Dewitt Watson was an American sinologist, translator, and writer known for his English translations of Chinese and Japanese literature.
18 Facts About Burton Watson
1. 2.
Burton Watson was born on June 13,1925, in New Rochelle, New York, where his father was a hotel manager.
3.
In 1943, at age 17, Burton Watson dropped out of high school to join the US Navy.
4.
Burton Watson was stationed on repair vessels in the South Pacific during the final years of World War II.
5.
Burton Watson's ship was in the Marshall Islands when the war ended in August 1945, and on September 20,1945 it sailed to Japan to anchor at the Yokosuka Naval Base, where Watson had his first direct experiences with Japan and East Asia.
6.
Some months later, Burton Watson realized that he had been in Hibiya Park and that the song was "Kimigayo".
7.
Burton Watson was unable to find any positions in Taiwan or Hong Kong, and so moved to Japan using the last of his GI savings.
8.
Burton Watson's combined salary was about $50 per month, and he lived much like other Japanese graduate students.
9.
In subsequent years, Burton Watson became friends with Gary Snyder, who lived in Kyoto in the 1950s, and through him Cid Corman and Allen Ginsberg.
10.
In 1956, Burton Watson received a PhD from Columbia for his dissertation "Ssu-ma Ch'ien: The Historian and His Work", a study of Sima Qian.
11.
Burton Watson then worked as a member of Ruth Fuller Sasaki's team translating Buddhist texts into English under the auspices of Columbia University's Committee on Oriental Studies, returning to Columbia in August 1961.
12.
Burton Watson subsequently taught at Columbia and Stanford as a professor of Chinese.
13.
Burton Watson remained there for the rest of his life.
14.
Burton Watson devoted much of his time to translation, both of literary works, and of more routine texts such as advertisements and instruction manuals.
15.
Burton Watson never married, but was in a long-term relationship with his partner Norio Hayashi.
16.
Burton Watson stated in an interview with John Balcom that his translations of Chinese poems were greatly influenced by the translations of Pound and Arthur Waley, particularly Waley.
17.
Burton Watson died on April 1,2017, aged 91, at the Hatsutomi Hospital in Kamagaya, Japan.
18.
Many of Burton Watson's translations were published by Columbia University Press.