While English speakers look back to the time of Shakespeare and Milton 400 years ago as a Golden age, Chinese look back far     1     (far), to the Tang dynasty 1, 200 years ago as their Golden age of literature.

A key feature of Chinese poetry is     2     it is concise (简洁的). Each character places a thought, an impression, an image. Emphasis is put on use of rhythm and sometimes in a     3     (balance) look of the characters so that it is     4     (visual) pleasing on paper.

Amazing 48, 000 poems have survived from the many Tang dynasty poets. After the Tang, poets struggled     5     (establish) a modern style that was not rooted in the glories of the past. Later the style of the Song dynasty did become a popular form. So many people enjoy such     6     (popular) because it was more fluent and less rigid than that of the Tang.

Many poems contain specific events from Chinese history, and that makes understanding these poems     7     challenge to non-Chinese. Translating Chinese poems into English     8     (cause) all sorts of problems. For many years, writers have tried to convey the spirit of poems     9     different ways. Although much is lost in translation, the core (核心) meaning can     10     (catch) and appreciated.