A friend asked me to teach her poetry. I know that she is not very interested in poetry. She just wants to find topics to talk about with me because I like poetry very much. Some of my poems were published in our local newspaper when I was a teenager. I have been very lonely, so reading poetry has been the best way to combat loneliness instead of spending money. We also read the Bible together. It is the first time I have taught poetry, and it is difficult to decide what to choose. Last week, I decided to teach Jiang Kui’s "Secret Fragrance". "Secret Fragrance" and "Dappled Shadows" are among Jiang Kui’s most quoted and admired works. Of the two poems, "Secret Fragrance" is written in a comparatively lucid style, and an English translation and Pinyin are available. When I taught it, I found it more difficult than I had expected. For example, when we read “何遜而今漸老” (“He Xun is now ageing”), I said, “Jiang Kui sees himself as an ageing He Xun.” She asked, “How do you know that?” This week, I decided to introduce Zhou Bangyan’s "Prince Lanling". One famous example is his description of willows and the parting of friends in the lyrics to "Prince Lanling". However, even more questions were raised. The more I read poetry, the more I understand Professor Florence Chia-ying Yeh’s words: “The reason I continue giving lectures is that I hope to leave something behind for those who enjoy Chinese poetry, something that might help them get a start in learning it.” Professor Yeh, who passed away in Tianjin, continues to inspire me.

A friend asked me to teach her poetry. The thing is, I know she's not interested in poetry that much; it's just that, she wants to find some topics I am also interested in. You see, I like poetry very much. My works were published in our local newspaper when I was a teenager. Recently, I have been very lonely, so reading poetry is the best way to combat loneliness instead of spending money. Furthermore, we also read the Bible together. This is the first time that I've taught poetry, and it's hard to choose. Last week I decided to choose Jiang Kui's "Secret Fragrance". "Secret Fragrance" and "Dappled Shadows" are among the most quoted and admired works by Jiang Kui. Of the two poems, "Secret fragrance" is written in a comparatively lucid style, and it has an English translation and Pinyin available. When I taught it, I found that it was more difficult than what I had thought. For example, when we read “何遜而今漸老” (He Xun is now aging), I said, "Jiang Kui sees himself as an aging He Xun". She asked, "How do you know that?" And i decided to introduce Zhou Bangyan's "Prince Lanling" this week. A famous example in his description of willows and the parting of friends in the lyrics to the tune of "Prince Lanling." But more questions were raised. The more I read poems, the more I understand "the reason I continue giving lectures is that I hope to leave something behind for those who enjoy Chinese poetry, something that might help them get a start in learning it," which is what Professor Florence Chia-ying Yeh, who passed away in Tianjin, once said.