This book examines the unique poetics of Shao Xunmei 邵洵美 (1906-1968),
a Chinese poet who has long been marginalized by contemporary criticism.
Shao aspires to reach the condition of music in poetry, which bears a
resemblance to three Anglophone writers whom he applauds: Algernon
Charles Swinburne, Edith Sitwell, and George Augustus Moore. The
Condition of Music and Anglophone Influences in the Poetry of Shao
Xunmei investigates how these three writers influenced Shao, and how
this inspiration helped shape his idea of the condition of music in
poetry.
In the scope of world literature, this book aims to fill a small but
important puzzle piece in the global network of literary influence. In a
world where cultural exchanges have become increasingly frequent and
convenient, and at a time when counter-globalization seems to burgeon
into a hazardous trend, it is beneficial to look back to the
1920s-1930s, a time that is as equally tumultuous as today, to examine
the global influence network that has taken us where we are, and to
understand that in the dynamic of literary influence, no single piece of
literature can have its significance alone.
This groundbreaking book will benefit the scholarship of Shao and
contribute to the relevant research in Chinese studies and word and
music studies. Therefore, it will be of great use and interest to
researchers of comparative literature, Chinese literature, and world
literature, as well as scholars of word and music studies.
