How to Read Chinese Poetry in Context

Reviews / Votes

Devoted exclusively to the rich, fantastical, labyrinthine matrix of poetry-making in ancient China. . . . [How to Read Chinese Poetry in Context] is both a gem of fresh scholarship and a compendium of luminous insights. . . . This book - in fact, the entire series - will be a game changer. -- Yunte Huang * Los Angeles Review of Books, China Channel * Zong-qi Cai is one of the finest scholars of Chinese poetry writing today. -- Jonathan Chaves, The George Washington University Truly a landmark publication in the field of Chinese literary scholarship. -- Shuen-fu Lin, University of Michigan In this magnificent volume on Chinese poetry, nineteen scholars demonstrate the importance of cultural reading. From questions of authorship to ideology, from the poetry of wars, heroes, women, and knights-errant to that of Daoism and Buddhism, this book offers a surprising and enlightening rereading of Chinese poetry and its context. -- Kang-i Sun Chang, Yale University A splendid achievement! Intellectually rigorous and reader-friendly at once, this collection of essays lets both novice and specialist readers experience the beauty and poignancy of classical Chinese poetry one well-chosen topic at a time. -- Patricia Sieber, Ohio State University This volume joins others in editor Zong-qi Cai's How to Read Chinese literature series as an important pedagogic and scholarly resource. Leading authorities set seminal poetic texts, across genres and periods, in their larger historical literary and intellectual contexts. A great contribution to a broader understanding of Chinese poetry. -- Ronald Egan, Stanford University