Chen Yan not only often incorporated vernacular neologisms into his poems but also essentially embraced the concept of “vernacular poetry” coined by Hu Shi. He made regular reference to “vernacular poetry” in his poetry commentaries, a connection closely tied to his subsequent shift in his poetics. During the early phase, Chen Yan turned to the “poetry of scholars” to rectify the deficiencies of shadow texture and howllow emotion in poetry. He advocated for the inclusion of “classics and history” to enrich the foundation of poetry. In his later period, he observed that some contemporary poems at that time deliberately relied on excessive allusions, resulting in the stifling of sensibility. He extolled the virtues of the “poetry of poets” to emphasize that poetry should convey genuine sentiments and that poets must employ their own words. Chen Yan's poetic theory contained revolutionary elments that bore a striking similarity to Hu Shi's view in “A Preliminary Discussion on Literary Reform” Furthermore, Chen Yan placed special emphasis on the musicality of poetry, aligning with the viewpoints of modernist poets on this particular matter. A comprehensive understanding of the intricate relationship between Chen Yan and the theory of new poetry can only be achieved by considering his later poetics in conjunction with the backdrop of the New Culture Movement.
