Table of contents : Contents Acknowledgments Introduction I: READING THE CRITICS 1. Finding Substance in Emptiness: Tracking the Immortal, Mid-Tang through Ming 2. To Study the Unlearnable: Li Bo in the Canon, Ming to Early Republic II: READING THE POEMS 3. The Performance of Ancientness in the ‘‘Ancient Airs’’ 4. The Yuefu: The Anatomy of an Unfettering 5. Alluding to Immediacy 6. Epilogue: Li Bo Remembering and Remembered Abbreviations Notes Character Glossary Bibliography Index About the Author