The Columbia Book of Chinese Poetry presents translations of more than
420 poems by 96 poets drawn from the great ages of Chinese poetry. It
includes selections from the Book of Odes, the oldest anthology of
Chinese poetry compiled around the seventh century B.C., and covers the
succeeding generations down to the end of the Sung dynasty in A.D. 1279.
A general introduction discusses the major characteristics and forms of
traditional Chinese poetry, while introductory essays to the individual
chapters outline the history of poetic development in China over the
centuries