Jie Tower: Remarks on Poetry and Lyric Poetry
Tags
Summary
Editor's review
Who it's for
A good fit for
- Lovers of classical poetry who want to hear one person's distinctive views
- Readers interested in the modern shihua genre and the tradition of literati criticism
- Liberal arts students with some grounding in classical poetry who want to broaden their critical perspective
- Readers who prefer fragmented reading and enjoy dipping into notebooks
Not a good fit for
- Beginners seeking systematic knowledge of poetry history or textbook-style explanation
- Academic researchers expecting a rigorous theoretical system and detailed annotations
- Readers with little interest in classical Chinese prose and subjective commentary
Reading tips
- Read primarily by dipping in; there is no need to follow the order, and when a poem entry interests you, look up the original poem to read alongside it.
- Keep a pen handy and note your disagreements beside the commentary, creating a dialogue with the author.
- For poets mentioned repeatedly, make a small thematic list and read the relevant entries together to see the critic's tendencies.
- After finishing, review the book and summarize the author's basic criteria for judging poetry, assessing both his insight and his limitations.
Contents
- 版权信息
- 孑楼诗词话
- 一
- 二
FAQ
What is shihua? What category does this book belong to?
Can I understand it without any background in poetry?
Can this book serve as an introduction to poetry?
Comments
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About the author
Lin Gengbai is the author of the two works Libaolou Shihua and Jielou Shici Hua. Publicly available information about his life is limited: his nationality, dates of birth and death, and English name are not clearly recorded. Judging from the surviving works, he devoted himself to the shihua, or remarks on poetry, a form in which he commented on poets and their poems in informal notes, recorded anecdotes from the poetry world, and discussed the origins and development of poetry as well as the successes and failures of poetic composition. Writing of this kind usually values personal insight and judgment, proceeds in a free style, offers appreciation of individual works, and reflects on questions of poetics, providing a way to understand traditional modes of poetry criticism. In common classifications the two shihua are placed under Eastern philosophy and classic works, which indicates their position among readings on traditional culture. On the basis of the materials currently available, it is still difficult to sketch the full course of his life, and readers may begin with these two works to appreciate his critical eye and prose style.
