"Themes of exile and return, darkness and lament" figure in select Song Dynasty paintings but have historically been overlooked by the vast majority of viewers for the very reason that they succeeded in their day--they were hidden except to a very small minority of scholars who had the background, training, and insights to decode them. This superb study by Alfreda Murck is a rare journey into this world of poetry and painting where (in her words) there was "a premium on obliqueness". The works of Su Shi, Wang Shen, Du Fu, Qu Yuan, Huang Tingjian and others are all part of this history. Many were centred in the region known as XiaoXiang in Hunan, named for the two rivers in the region, and marked by China's largest lake, the vast Lake Dongting--where many disgraced scholars were sent (or withdrew) in exile. The 'defining moment' for many was Shenzong's Reign, when politics reigned in the N. Song court, and the shadow of the dynasty's imminent fall in 1126 was just beginning to spread its shadow over the court. This is a work to be read after one has read such Tang Dynasty poets as Du Fu, has studied Chinese literati painters, and has read some Chinese history--at least from the late Tang (10C) through the 14th century, for only then will the pieces fall in place. The amount of research author Murck has done is truly amazing; its rewards are the insights careful readers of this text will reap in their explorations of Chinese studies. ( )