The most comprehensive collection of the works of the late twentieth-century Chinese poet Xu Zhimo has been published.

The new collection included all of Xu Zhimo's poems, essays, novels, plays, translation works, letters and diaries that have been found so far. Quite a few of the works have never been previously published.

The collection includes for the first time the unedited version of Xu Zhimo's Love Letters to Lu Xiaoman, with the names mentioned in the letters are all real names.

The most precious inclusion in the collection are two of the poet's diaries, which had been looted by a Japanese soldier during the Japanese invasion of China in the 30s but later returned.

Xu Zhimo, who lived from 1897-1931, was a romantic who died in an air accident.

He was one of the first Chinese writers to successfully naturalize Western romantic forms into modern Chinese poetry.

Numerous versions of the Complete Works of Xu Zhimo have been compiled since his death, but none are as complete as this latest edition.

(CRI.com May 16, 2005)