Professor Chou here offers a new perspective on the rise and fall of the Kung-an School as a key to understanding the development of Chinese literary criticism in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. His book focuses on the literary theories of YUan Hung-tao (1568-1610)--the leader of the Kung-an School--and his two brothers. Its core is a detailed study of the poetry and prose of YUan Hung-tao, comparing his theories with his writings and analyzing systematically the merits and flaws of his work. The volume concludes with a discussion of the legacy of the Kung-an School,...