How to Read Chinese Poetry in Context is an introduction to the golden
age of Chinese poetry, spanning the earliest times through the Tang
dynasty (618-907). It aims to break down barriers--between language and
culture, poetry and history--that have stood in the way of teaching and
learning Chinese poetry. Not only a primer in early Chinese poetry, the
volume demonstrates the unique and central role of poetry in the making
of Chinese culture.
Each chapter focuses on a specific theme to show the interplay between
poetry and the world. Readers discover the key role that poetry played
in Chinese diplomacy, court politics, empire building, and
institutionalized learning; as well as how poems shed light on gender
and women's status, war and knight-errantry, Daoist and Buddhist
traditions, and more. The chapters also show how people of different
social classes used poetry as a means of gaining entry into officialdom,
creating self-identity, fostering friendship, and airing grievances. The
volume includes historical vignettes and anecdotes that contextualize
individual poems, investigating how some featured texts subvert and
challenge the grand narratives of Chinese history. Presenting poems in
Chinese along with English translations and commentary, How to Read
Chinese Poetry in Context unites teaching poetry with the social
circumstances surrounding its creation, making it a pioneering and
versatile text for the study of Chinese language, literature, history,
and culture.