This book is the first in Western literature to focus on the poetry of
Li Yu and Feng Yen-ssu. It contains nearly one hundred translations of
Chinese poems written during the brief and turbulent Southern T'ang
Dynasty (907- 960 A.D.). Bryant describes and evaluates the major
contribution of Li Yu and Feng Yen-ssu to the evolution of the poetry
form known as 'tz'u' -- a form which reflects the highly
developed cultural milieu of the period.