The Author Can't Write Poetry Analysis

Xie Zhiyan, why do you only write half your answer in reading comprehension, and never get to the point! Why do you keep getting the same characters wrong in your classical poetry fill-in-the-blanks? And in your analysis of Xie Wenzhi’s poem this time, why are you focusing on all the tiny details that won’t earn you any points? Stop using your Spring and Autumn style of writing!!!

Ah, sorry. I was actually named Ke, courtesy name Wenzhi.

Ah!!! Why did I write so many poems back then? I can’t memorize them all!

Xie Zhiyan! Do you have a grudge against Xie Wenzhi? You’re always changing his poems!

Well, you might not believe this, but I’m actually writing the original poems. It’s the Collection of Xie Wenzhi’s Writings that changes Xie Wenzhi’s poems.

There’s a little bit of showbiz (playing yourself), but it’s mainly the story of a famous scholar getting tormented by Chinese class in high school after graduating from the Imperial College.

This comes from an author driven mad by all the formulaic nitpicking in poetry analysis, and from the resentment I felt after reading ancient versions of poetry criticism (Canglang’s Remarks on Poetry, The Human World’s Remarks on Poetry, and various other works on poetry). P.S. Did you know that many of Bai Juyi’s poems were altered, and the original Tang dynasty versions were later found in Japan? But since the altered versions had already become standard, people still use them. P.P.S. Supposedly, the altered versions are easier to recite.

Written on March 4, 2020

Theme: I was about to curse out the author, then realized I wrote it myself.