Page:The works of Li Po - Obata.djvu/224

 PART III

��The following translations are offered as much be- cause of their contents as because of the interest they possess as types of ancient Chinese writing at and about Li Po's time.

Li Yang-ping's Preface is written in the euphuism of the Six Dynasty Period with its parallel constructions, profuse classical allusions, and curious hyperboles. Though the author's judgment is not worth any serious consideration, this is the first critical essay on Li Po.

The two biographies from the "Books of Tang," in spite of their brevity and mistakes, remain still the official and only extant authentic accounts of the poet's life written in Chinese.

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