Read “What Protected Early Chinese Poetry from Socratic Criticism?”.

Lanyue’s essay is the second of three major essays required of all students in my PoH course on the concept of literature. The course’s objectives are undeniably ambitious. It aims for students not only to deeply understand the concept of literature by probing its cultural origins, particularly its intricate relationship with the classical Greek notion of poetry and its entanglement with modern conceptions of art, but also to foster a fruitful dialogue with the literary culture and tradition from which the majority of my students originate. Aware of the intellectual challenges inherent in such cross-cultural comparisons, I ensured that the goals for the second essay assignment were modest. Students were expected to draw directly from what they learned in class as well as the provided readings to write a minimum 1000-word response to one of two questions concerning the conceptualization and/or internal reception of the shi in ancient China as compared to ancient Greek “poetry.” No external research was necessary.

Lanyue went above and beyond the set expectations. Her essay not only exceeds the minimum required length by more than double, but also incorporates excellent ideas from external scholarly sources found through her own research. Although, as she sanely and humbly acknowledged in the conclusion of the essay, the breadth of her chosen topic cannot be fully addressed within the confines of a short response paper, she explicates the distinctiveness of classical Chinese poetic genres and relevant key concepts with remarkable clarity and effectiveness. The essay’s introduction adeptly sets the stage by introducing key claims and ideas; these are then logically and rigorously developed in the main body; the sources and quotations used are all carefully selected and effectively integrated into the text. Undoubtedly, readers unfamiliar with the subject matter will find much to gain from the wealth of information and insights woven into the essay. I commend Lanyue for both her thoughtfulness and her writerly success.

—Chen Lin, Clinical Associate Professor in the Writing Program