Poem with the Garden is a work of poetry aesthetics and theory created by Yuan Mei, a writer in Qing Dynasty. Sixteen volumes are being edited, the first edition of fifty-five years of Qing Qianlong (1790); Addendum to ten volumes, first published in the Qing Jiaqing period.
This book systematically expounds Yuan Mei's poetic theory and aesthetic tendency, with many interesting stories in contemporary poetry circles, as well as comments on ancient and modern poets' poems, focusing on the theory of soul. Oppose antique posturing, advocate expressing spirit, portray temperament, and emphasize "truth", "liveliness" and "novelty".
The content of Suiyuan Poetry Talk is based on a large number of selected poems, and it has the following characteristics: (1) The criteria for selecting poems are strict, mainly that "poetry" serves "words". (2) There is a wide range of poems. Yuan Mei said, "I have heard a good word, that is, I wrote it in a poem, and I don't know who wrote it." The winner is both a master of poetry and a nobody; There are both generals or ministers and civilians. (3) There are many selected female poems. In response to the bad habit of "commonly known as women are not suitable for poetry", Yuan Mei did the opposite, claiming: "I wrote" Poetry Talk "and recorded many aristocratic poems." (4) The selected poems are rich in themes. Although there are many works expressing personal emotions and sorrows in Shihua, there are also many good poems reflecting social real life. In addition, many love poems were selected, which also had certain anti-Taoist significance at that time.