On the evening of April 7th, the 50th lecture of “Liyun” Lecture Series organized by Beijing Normal University was held at B303, Lijiao Building. Professor Chen Zhi, Provost of UIC, director of the Research Centre for History and Culture (RCHC), Beijing Normal University, gave the theme lecture on Ancient Poetry, sharing with the audience the charm of poetry.

At the beginning of the lecture, a student representative presided over the lecture and presented Professor Chen a letter of appointment as the "Guest Speaker of Liyun Lecture Series".

Professor Chen Zhi first introduced this topic with specific questions. He pointed out that the understanding of ancient poetry should be based on the context at the time. Therefore, ancient poetry is one of the studies that are most likely to be misunderstood today.Then he gave specific examples to illustrate the difference between the grammar of ancient poetry and the grammar in modern Chinese.

Professor Chen also pointed out that it was not difficult for ancient people to understand poetry because the ancient imperial examinations required them to familiarize themselves with phonology, so almost everyone was able to write poetry under the tuition of private schools. In addition, Professor Chen Zhi introduced us to “examination poem”, a form of poetry used in imperial examinations in feudal China.

Taking the questions of the imperial examination and the answers of the examinees as examples, Professor Chen Zhi vividly told us the secrets of the imperial examination questions. 

At the end of the lecture, professor Chen zhi listed some excellent modern poets such as San yisheng and Fang chongyu, encouraging everyone to appreciate the poems of these modern poets and feel the poets' profound and natural poetry creation.

During the two-hour lecture, Professor Chen Zhi actively interacted with the students with his profound poetry skills and humorous language. He showed the charm of ancient poetry and made the students immersed in it. The lecture ended successfully after the student representatives presented Professor Chen with a souvenir.