This is a study of the poetry of Wen Tingyun (circa 812 to circa 866), a major writer of the Late Tang. Though modern Chinese literary history has generally perceived Wen as an innovator of the song (ci), this study argues that he gains full stature when his lyric poetry (shi) is examined. In such an examination, he emerges as the near equal of his great contemporaries Li Shangyin and Du Mu and as a powerful representative of the spirit of his age. Though the book focuses on a single poet, it takes larger poetic developments as its context and locates Wen within the cultural and literary...