Includes a brief discussion about the halcyon/kingfisher in European medieval literature.

"Students of medieval Chinese literature can never afford to take for granted the peculiar qualities and characteristics of the physical objects referred to by poets. All too often individual plants and animals have not the same cultural and literary connotations in medieval poetry that they hold for modern readers. The present essay offers a study of the appearance, attributes, and uses of one creature-the glossy-tinted, exotic, and highly prized kingfisher-as revealed in medieval verse, especially that of the Nan-pei-ch'ao period." - Kroll

Language: English