Template talk:Murasaki Shikibu

Latest comment: 12 years ago by Truthkeeper88 in topic "Poetic Memoirs"

"Poetic Memoirs"

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I removed a reference to this phrase. The Murasaki Shikibu Shū (紫式部集) does not appear to have an established English name. The name Poetic Memoirs, while it does exist, merely formed part of the title of a combined translation of two works -- the aforementioned poetry anthology, and her Diary.[1] While the phrase does clearly exist in at least one reliable source, and I wouldn't mind the article being created under that title, the Murasaki Shikibu Shū is as I understand it more a poetry collection than a "memoir". This is, at least, what the Japanese name implies, and if Wikipedia articles are going to use non-"official" translations they should be as accurate as possible. Lastly, and most importantly, red links just look unattractive and are relatively meaningless in templates like this. When I encountered it, it didn't occur to me that "poetic memoirs" meant The Murasaki Shikibu Anthology, and I was deeply confused. elvenscout742 (talk) 11:47, 14 November 2012 (UTC)Reply

That's fine. Writing from memory, I'm fairly certain Richard Bowring uses that title, pretty sure that what I used as a source, but have to pull the book from the shelf. The red link is a reminder that another page is to be created, but I realize some people object to them and I'd added it with good intentions without following through. Truthkeeper (talk) 00:29, 15 November 2012 (UTC)Reply
I understand. I've done similar things myself in the recent past. ;-) I actually don't mind red links in themselves, but in a template like this that appears on every page related to Murasaki Shikibu, it's just a little off-putting. Richard Bowring was the translator (author?) I was referring to. I haven't actually read his book, but a Google search for "Poetic Memoirs" "Murasaki Shikibu" seemed to bring up only the title of his book, which appeared to be a combined translation with the better-known Diary. elvenscout742 (talk) 01:09, 15 November 2012 (UTC)Reply
It's a separate manuscript, but you're right, he does combine the two though technically they're not the same. I have to re-read those sections though. I wrote the diary page (not yet finished) and the Murasaki Shikibu page but got distracted unfortunately. If it's ever created it can be re-added to the template. Truthkeeper (talk) 01:14, 15 November 2012 (UTC)Reply