the epigram, which ends in a satisfying turn of
thought to which the rest of the composition is intended to lead up;
it aims at producing an impression which, so far from being final, is
merely the prelude to a long series of visions and of feelings. The
last of the four lines is called the "surprise line"; but the
revelation it gives is never a complete one: the words stop, but the
sense goes on. Just as in the pictorial art of China, so in her
poetic art is suggestiveness the great end and aim of the artist.
Beginners are taught that the three canons of verse composition are
lucidity, simplicity and correctness of diction. Yet some critics have
boldly declared for obscurity of expression, alleging that the
piquancy of a thought is enhanced by its skilful concealment. For the
foreign student, it is not necessary to accentuate the obscurity and
difficulty even of poems in which the motive is simple enough. The
constant introduction of classical allusions, often in the vaguest
terms, and the almost unlimited licence as to the order of words,
offer quite sufficient obstacles to easy and rapid comprehension.
Poetry has been defined by one Chinese writer as "clothing with words
the emotions which surge through the heart." The chief moods of the
Chinese poet are a pure delight in the varying phenomena of nature,
and a boundless sympathy with the woes and sufferings of humanity.
Erotic poetry is not absent, but it is not a feature proportionate in
extent to the great body of Chinese verse; it is always restrained,
and never lapses from a high level of purity and decorum. In his love
for hill and stream which he peoples with genii, and for tree and
flower which he endows with sentient souls, the Chinese poet is
perhaps seen at his very best; his views of life are somewhat too
deeply tinged with melancholy, and often loaded with an overwhelming
sadness "at the doubtful doom of human kind." In his lighter moods he
draws inspiration, and in his darker moods consolation from the
wine-cup. Hard-drinking, not to say drunkenness, seems to have been
universal among Chinese poets, and a considerable amount of talent has
been expended upon the glorification of wine. From Taoist, and
especially from Buddhist sources, many poets have obtained glimpses to
make them less forlorn; but it cannot be said that there is any
definitely religious poetry in the Chinese language.