Burton Watson is universally considered the foremost English-language translator of classical Chinese literature of the past five decades. His graceful translations are accompanied by a comprehensive introduction to the development and characteristics of the fu form, as well as excerpts from contemporary commentary on the genre. A pathbreaking study of premodern Chinese literature, Chinese Rhyme-Prose was selected as one of sixty-five masterpieces for the UNESCO Collection of Representative Works. First published in 1971, it has been out of print for decades.