A word must be said of the Fu [descriptive prose-poems] of this time. They resemble the vers libres of modern France, using rhyme occasionally [like Georges Duhamel] as a means of "sonner, rouler, quand il faut faire donner les cuivres et la batterie." Of this nature is the magnificent "Autumn Dirge" [Giles, "Chinese Lit.," p. 215] by Ou-yang Hsiu, whose lyric poetry is of small interest. The subsequent periods need not much concern us. In the eighteenth century the garrulous Yüan Mei wrote his "Anecdotes of Poetry-making"—a book which, while one of the most charming in the language, probably contains more bad poetry [chiefly that of his friends] than any in the world. His own poems are modelled on Po Chü-i and Su Tung-p'o.
This introduction is intended for the general reader. I have therefore stated my views simply and categorically, and without entering into controversies which are of interest only to a few specialists.
As an account of the development of Chinese poetry these notes are necessarily incomplete, but it is hoped that they answer some of those question which a reader would be most likely to ask.
