New history of twentieth-century Chinese poetry is published

January 18, 2006 Edited by Chang Li and Lu Shourong, this innovative new history is remarkable for several reasons. First of all, it abandons the usual periodization of twentieth-century poetry according to eras and political changes. Instead, it looks at the changes that have taken place in the poetic art over the last ten decades and, in the process, breaks down barriers between classical and foreign, as well as modern and contemporary.

Secondly, the history aims at comprehensiveness, and includes a detailed introduction to the work of poets writing in the 1990s. According to the publishers, it also strives to redress the neglect of certain modern poets such as Fei Ming and Shao Xunmei, and contains work by Taiwanese writers.

Thirdly, the editors have tried to be original in their thinking, presenting new material wherever possible, and have focused the efforts on the illumination of the "spiritual worlds" of individual poets.

In short, the book is an invitation to readers to drift at will "upon the rivers of art", and represents an ambitious attempt to sketch the development of China's new poetry in a language that is itself aesthetically satisfying.