While Han Zhi was lost in these private thoughts, Zhao Zongshi suddenly nudged him with his elbow. Coming back to his senses, he heard Zhao Zongshi say, "Gentlemen, the true essence of poetry has always lain in genuine emotion."
"Prosody and meter are certainly important, but if they shackle the expression of our thoughts and feelings, poetry becomes nothing more than a soulless shell. Zhuangyuan Han's 'Jiewang' may use vocabulary that defies tradition, but its triumph lies in its direct expression of the heart."
"Much like Liu Yong, whose lyrics often employ vernacular language yet swept across the length and breadth of the land, beloved by ordinary people—did he not also add a unique brilliance to the world of poetry?"
Chapter 305