"The most thorough study we have in any language, Chinese included, of a major writer from the late Qing. In fact, there is no more complete study of any Chinese poet from any period, even including Lin Yutang’s classic The Gay Genius on Su Shi (1037-1101) from 1946. (…) Schmidt’s scholarship is awe-inspiring.” – Prof. Jonathan Chaves, George Washington University

“Of mammoth proportion and importance (…) One of the most impressive exercises in classical Chinese scholarship ever completed about any era or poet in any Western language (…) Resoundingly establishes the reputation of Zheng Zhen as a poet of the very highest rank in Chinese literary history… the book is clearly not just a success, but a triumph. (…) Unique and a major breakthrough in our overall understanding of late imperial China." – Prof. Terry Russell, University of Manitoba