A Close Reading of Poetic Remarks in the Human World (2 Volumes)
苏缨Hunan Literature and Art Publishing House · ChinaJun 2026
Rating 3.9- Word count
- 360K words
- Chapters
- 76
- ISBN
- 9787572626371
Tags
Literary Appreciation Wang GuoweiEast-West IntegrationWork AppreciationTheory of Aesthetic RealmLiterary TheoryClose Textual ReadingAesthetic InterpretationPoetry AppreciationClassical AestheticsPoetic InheritanceSummary
The viral hit from Bilibili—a writing companion and a master's guide to the most exquisite ci poetry. Su Ying, a master of ci appreciation, brings his 600,000-word commentary to Wang Guowei's classic Renjian Cihua. Renjian Cihua is the magnum opus of the great scholar Wang Guowei and the most celebrated work of ci criticism of the past century. Wang uses the form of traditional Chinese poetics to convey the rigorous system of Western aesthetics, filling this exquisite work with beautiful traps. Su Ying places Renjian Cihua within the grand coordinates of philosophy, aesthetics, and its era, integrating traditional Chinese poetics and Western aesthetic theory, drawing on the literary context of the Qing dynasty, and ranging from the Book of Songs to Nalan's ci—hundreds of poetic masterpieces in all—to interpret the sixty-four chapters of cihua in sequence. Through a contemporary aesthetic lens, he reveals what predecessors missed, with meticulous detail and penetrating insight. This is a magnificent history of ci—of the poets' heavenly secrets and human world, of the evolution and rise and fall of ci. Following in Wang Guowei's footsteps, meander along this river of poetry—now gentle, now turbulent—and reunite with name after name from the depths of the heart: Wen Tingyun, Feng Yansi, Li Yu, Yan Shu, Ouyang Xiu, Su Shi, Qin Guan, Xin Qiji, Nalan Rongruo... Whether emperor or wanderer, great hero or heartbroken soul, only ci can preserve their elegance and depth of feeling, and let us hear their unrestrained spirit and sorrow.Editor's review
In a six-hundred-thousand-character study, Su Ying offers a chapter-by-chapter reading of Wang Guowei's Renjian Cihua, relocating this seemingly fragmentary, impressionistic work within the contexts of philosophy, aesthetics, and Qing literary culture. She explains how Wang used the traditional form of shi-hua (poetry talk) to carry a Western aesthetic system, while also identifying the "beautiful trap" hidden within it. The book ranges from the Shijing to Nalan Xingde's ci, touching on writers such as Wen Tingyun, Li Yu, Su Shi, and Xin Qiji, and drawing on hundreds of works with ease, combining an outline of ci history with close readings of specific lines. For general readers, it lowers the threshold for approaching the original Renjian Cihua directly; for those with some background, it offers a fresh angle on propositions such as the "theory of jingjie" (realm). It suits slow reading as a long-term desk book, and is also useful for locating ci examples and critical approaches when writing or teaching.Who it's for
A good fit for
- Beginning readers of classical literature who want to read the original Renjian Cihua but worry about understanding it
- Chinese-language teachers and writing enthusiasts who need material and critical approaches for appreciating poetry and ci
- Readers interested in the history of ci and in writers such as Wen Tingyun, Li Yu, and Su Shi
- Readers who enjoy close reading of texts and are willing to read slowly with annotations and cross-references
Not a good fit for
- Readers who want only Wang Guowei's original text and do not wish to read lengthy later interpretations
- Readers expecting light, short essays and with limited patience for scholarly organization
- Professional researchers who require strict academic paper conventions and textual scholarship
Reading tips
- First read through the original sixty-four sections of Renjian Cihua, then read this book entry by entry alongside it, marking points of divergence.
- Keep a pen at hand; when the book quotes original ci works, look up the source poem to avoid reading only the commentary.
- You can jump between chapters by poet—for example, read the sections on Li Yu, Su Shi, and Xin Qiji first, then return to the theoretical parts.
- There is no need to finish both volumes at once; read two or three chapters a week and allow time to digest the aesthetic concepts.
About the publisher
Hunan Literature and Art Publishing House China · Founded in 1985Hunan Literature and Art Publishing House is a publisher known for its literary titles, with a catalogue spanning foreign literature, world classics, classical Chinese literature, essays and miscellaneous writings, and mystery and detective fiction. Judging from the more than 1,100 books in the database, the press publishes foreign classics such as Crime and Punishment, Snow Country, The Complete Sherlock Holmes and Letter from an Unknown Woman, as well as Chinese classical and modern literary works including Lu Xun's Wandering and A Madman's Diary and Wu Jingzi's The Scholars. In terms of translators and authors, translations by Cao Guowei and Tan Jinghua appear in its foreign literature titles, and the authors involved include Dostoevsky, Kawabata Yasunari, Conan Doyle and Zweig. Its publishing character lies in introducing Chinese and foreign literary classics side by side, balancing popular and serious works and attending to both readability and literary value. Public information is limited; the above is a brief overview based solely on the books in the database.
Contents
- 版权信息
- 人间词话精读（上册）
- 自序
- ［一］
- ［二］
- ［三］
- ［四］
- ［五］
- ［六］
- ［七］
- ［八］
- 附记：性灵与学力
- ［九］
- 附记：独创与暗合
- ［十］
- ［十一］
- ［十二］
- ［十三］
- ［十四］
- ［十五］
- 附记：帝王之泪与百姓之泪
- ［十六］
- 附记：周济的词
- ［十七］
- ［十八］
- ［十九］
- ［二十］
- ［二十一］
- ［二十二］
- ［二十三］
- ［二十四］
- ［二十五］
- ［二十六］
- ［二十七］
- ［二十八］
- ［二十九］
- ［三十］
- ［三十一］
- 人间词话精读（下册）
- ［三十二］
- ［三十三］
- ［三十四］
- ［三十五］
- ［三十六］
- ［三十七］
- ［三十八］
- ［三十九］
- ［四十］
- ［四十一］
- ［四十二］
- ［四十三］
- ［四十四］
- ［四十五］
- ［四十六］
- ［四十七］
- ［四十八］
- ［四十九］
- ［五十］
- ［五十一］
- ［五十二］
- ［五十三］
- ［五十四］
- ［五十五］
- ［五十六］
- ［五十七］
- ［五十八］
- ［五十九］
- ［六十］
- ［六十一］
- ［六十二］
- ［六十三］
- ［六十四］
- 附录一：《人间词话》背景谈
- 附录二：诗词引用
- 后记
- 作者简介
FAQ
Can I read this set directly if I haven't read the original Renjian Cihua?
Yes. Su Ying interprets the sixty-four sections of cihua in order and explains the original context and key terms, so readers can follow even without having read the original. However, the book quotes extensively from original ci and cihua entries, so it is advisable to keep a copy of Renjian Cihua at hand and compare key passages for a more solid understanding.How is this set different from ordinary books of poetry and ci appreciation?
It is not primarily a collection of single-work appreciations. Instead, it unfolds around Wang Guowei's propositions on ci poetics, discussing cihua within the contexts of philosophy, aesthetics, and Qing literary culture, and linking the historical thread of ci from the Shijing to Nalan Xingde. What you read is Wang Guowei's set of questions, not isolated comments on fine lines.Do the two volumes need to be read in order?
Reading in order is recommended, because Su Ying follows the sequence of the sixty-four sections of Renjian Cihua, and the concepts build on one another. If your time is fragmented, you can start with chapters on poets you already know and return to the theoretical parts later, but for a first reading it is still best to read straight through in order.This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.
About the author
苏缨 Author · ChineseSu Ying is a contemporary Chinese author who has long devoted herself to the study of classical Chinese literature and to the annotation and commentary of poetry and ci. Her prose is gentle and fluent. Her writing centers on the appreciation and interpretation of classical poetry, and also extends to literary criticism and biography, with her works commonly classed under literary appreciation, classical poetry, literature, and biography. Sixteen of her works are held in the collection, including the representative titles Nalan Ci Dictionary Commentary, A Complete Annotated Edition of Nalan's Ci, Close Reading of Renjian Cihua, The Most Beautiful Tang Poems, and the biographies Li Shangyin: A Life in Poems and The Book of Poetic Time: When You Are Old. She has also co-authored Nalan Rongruo: A Life in Ci and Li Shangyin: A Life in Poems with Mao Xiaowen and Xia Ruyi. Her commentaries attend closely to wording and textual editions while remaining accessible and engaging, and have been well received by readers as an introduction to classical poetry. Because no systematic account of her life has been made public, information about her education and career cannot be confirmed.