I began work on Yü Hsin in 1970 and submitted a thesis on the ‘Lament’ to Harvard University as part of the requirements for a Ph.D. degree in 1974. Some portions of that thesis, much revised, are included in this book. The ‘Lament’ turned out to be a good deal more difficult than anticipated; convinced that it must make more sense than it seemed to, I spent the four years of thesis work, and much of the time since then, reading Six-Dynasties history and literature. Professor J. R. Hightower, my thesis director, patiently read and corrected a number of drafts, and Dr. Achilles Fang, who had tried for years to teach me classical Chinese, also agreed to act as a reader of the thesis. I would like to record my indebtedness to both of them. Professor Hightower has also gone over various drafts of this book and suggested many improvements; to him the work is dedicated. A number of others have discussed the ‘Lament’ with me or read the draft in whole or in part, they include Professors Florence Chao, Francis Cleaves, Patrick Hanan, William Hung, Yan-shuan Lao, T. Y. Li, Denis Twitchett, J. T. Wixted, L. S. Yang, and Y. S. Yü. Mr. George Potter and Miss Deborah White of the Harvard- Yenching Library have very kindly helped me to obtain books.

It seems particularly appropriate that a book on the ‘Lament’ should appear at this time; according to the theory of the late Professor Ch'en Yia-k'o, 1978 would be the fourteen-hundredth anniversary of the writing of the ‘Lament’.