It is an article placed before the body of the book. The author's own writing is called "preface", which mostly explains its content, writing reason, process, theme and characteristics; The preface written by others is called "preface", which introduces and comments on the ideological content and artistic characteristics of the book.
In ancient times, there was another kind of preface, that is, farewell words, which was called "preface of giving words" Most of the content is words that praise, emphasize or encourage relatives and friends. For example, Song Lian's "Preface to seeing Ma Sheng off to Yang" is the preface written by the author to the younger generation in his hometown. There is also a preface written in front of a poem, called "preface to poetry", which is more about telling the content of the story or the source of the poem. For example, Peacock Flying Southeast by Han Yuefu, Pipa Trip by Bai Juyi and Yangzhou Slow by Jiang Kui are all in order.
The preface is written in a simple way, just explaining the relevant time, place, people and so on. Usually only a few dozen words are enough. For example, the order of peacocks flying southeast:
Preface: Liu, the wife of a petty official in Lujiang Prefecture, was sent by Zhong Qing's mother and vowed not to marry. His family forced him to drown. When Zhong Qing heard about it, he hanged himself in the courtyard tree. When people hurt them, it is a poem.
Some are longer, such as Pipa Travel:
In the tenth year of Yuanhe, he moved to Sima, Jiujiang County. Next autumn, I will send a guest to Pukou, and I will hear those pipa players in the middle of the night. Listen to its voice, there is the voice of Kyoto. Ask him, Ben Chang 'an advocates women, learns from Mu and Cao. Old age is fading, and I am committed to being a wife. Then he ordered wine and asked Aauto Quicker to play some songs. When I was young, I told myself my happiness. Now I am wandering outside, unhappy, and fighting in the rivers and lakes. After two years as an official, I feel at ease and feel that I have moved towards the future. Because of the long sentences, I gave them songs, all of which were 6 16 words. Life is called pipa xing.
The preface not only explains the background of writing poetry, but also sometimes shows the author's mood and position. For example, the above example.