Bathed with the blood and tears of countless poets and authors and naturally expressing the most heartfelt emotions of ancient peoples, poems of mourning and texts of lament stand out in classical Chinese literature as brilliant and unique. Composed and celebrated over 3000 years, they are central to the Chinese literary tradition but have been largely unknown to English readers. Including over 100 major pieces by leading literary figures from 800 BCE - 1800, this is the first English anthology of classic Chinese poems of mourning and texts of sacrificial offering. With annotated translations by leading scholars and reading guides accompanying each piece, this book reveals a powerful literary heritage to students and serious readers of Chinese literature, history and civilization. A generous sampling from the vast body of efforts to find the right words to convey deep grief. In a variety of literary forms, writers here mourn the deaths of loved ones, show respect for lost friends and colleagues, and lament historical figures and ruined sites that are no more. Unprecedented in scope, this singular collection conveys the profound feelings of mourning, yearning, and even anguish over personal loss by many of China's finest writers of nearly three millennia. This collection allows a deep understanding of what moved these many writers most profoundly and how they struggled to verbalize their emotions.