First published by Kaiming Bookstore in 1922, this book grew out of lecture notes prepared by Mr. Xia Mianzun at Changsha First Normal School and Chunhui Middle School in Baima Lake. Educator Liu Xunyu later revised and edited the notes in light of his own teaching experience, bringing them to their final form. Xia Mianzun and Liu Xunyu explain the writer’s proper attitude, how to select, organize, and sequence material for factual writing, literary nonfiction, the meaning of narrative writing, and the blending of factual and narrative writing. The book summarizes practical writing techniques for essays such as narratives, expository pieces, and argumentative essays. It addresses practical questions, including how to improve one’s writing quickly by composing short, varied sketches, and offers incisive, original advice on common writing problems through brief critiques of celebrated works by writers such as Lu Xun and Bing Xin.
