Introduction

This book, first published in 1965, covers a period of one thousand years and collects together some of the best examples of Chinese Lyrics (tz’u). The authors reflect in translation not only the spirit of the original, but also something of its poetical ornamentations and lyric pattern. The Chinese original of each poem faces the English and is written in a Chinese scholar’s distinguished calligraphy. A Note on the Development of the Chinese Lyric and several Appendices provide the reader with brief but illuminating social, cultural and historical background.