Preface

The mountains, rivers, and wilderness of the Central Lands do not inherently possess poetry; the stony wastes and marshes do not inherently possess poetry. Rather, it is the vast, surging vital energy original: 氣 (qì). The life force or breath that animates the world in Chinese philosophy. that stretches over ten thousand miles across the Central Plains—coiling like a dragon, overflowing with wild power—that must eventually find an outlet. This is what Heaven has designed and Earth has completed, and it is the pent-up energy entrusted to extraordinary men of talent to be released as songs and poems. This is what is meant by "surpassing the eight horizons and being as vigorous as a sudden wind."

Though the axis of the Central Plains is vast, ever since the Jin Dynasty produced the two Xies original: 二謝 (Èr Xiè). Referring to the famous nature poets Xie Lingyun and Xie Xuanhui, who defined the landscape poetry of their eras. and the Tang Dynasty produced Li [Bai], Liu [Zongyuan], Meng [Jiao], and Han [Yu], the essence of beauty and splendor has been fully expressed and released. Thus, the inspiration of the mountains and rivers may be exhausted, and the power of brush and ink may also be spent. Could the authors of the Song and Yuan dynasties truly stand as tall as those previous worthies?

Beyond the Southern Seas, there is a large island called Selat original: 息力 (Xīlì). A phonetic transcription for "Selat" (the Straits), a common historical Chinese name for Singapore., which was the ancient Kingdom of Johor. Its customs were once uncultivated original: 狉獉 (pīzhēn). A term suggesting a primitive or pre-literate state., and its people wore their hair in mallets original: 椎髻 (chuí jì). A hairstyle associated by Chinese scholars with "unrefined" or non-Han peoples.. Westerners developed the land, but they were solely focused on commerce and trade. Amidst these remote corners and unrefined hinterlands, the scholar original: 孝廉 (xiàolián). A title for those who passed the provincial-level civil service examinations. Qiu Shuyuan original: 邱淑源. Also known as Qiu Shuyuan (邱菽園, 1874–1941), a famous poet, activist, and leader in the Singaporean Chinese community. traveled as a guest. He said to others, "To clear the wilderness and reform the customs—is this not the responsibility of us Confucians?"

For this reason, he established the Lize Society original: 麗澤社. A literary society founded in Singapore to promote Chinese culture and classical education. to instruct the descendants of merchants who were capable of study. He also wrote dozens of books to clarify the profound mysteries of poetry. In the tradition of the "light carriage collecting folk songs" original: 輶軒采風 (yóuxuān cǎifēng). A reference to the ancient practice where imperial officials collected local poems to gauge the social and moral health of a region., nothing takes precedence over poetry. For a scholar specializing in the Classics, nothing takes precedence over poetry. By using poetry to find joy in the correctness of one's nature and temperament, one can then proceed to the study of the Book of History, the Rites, and general literature. Only those who can chant and recite the lines can then elaborate and develop them into...