I cannot imagine myself as capable of writing this slender book about Wordsworth as a poet-teacher without acknowledging my intellectual debts to a number of English teachers at various universities.Some of them write poems,some read and write about poems,but all of them are great teachers.
My deepest gratitude goes to my teachers at the English Department of Peking University,where I had the great good fortune to have spent the most formative years of my university education,enjoying numerous lectures given by Professor Han Minzhong,Professor Ding Hongwei and Professor Su Weixing.They instilled in me a firm belief in the value of a liberal education and the relevance of English literature in modern China,and they made Wordsworth's poetry matter profoundly to me.
I am especially grateful to Dr Tim Milnes and Dr Simon M alpas from the English Department of the University of Edinburgh,and to Professor Peter Kitson from the University of East Anglia.They guided,encouraged,challenged and supported me through different stages of this research project,turning me into a better reader of Wordsworth and a mature researcher of English literature.
To my colleagues at Renmin University of China,I also owe lots of inspiration and help.professor Dai Xianmei is the kind of teacher Wordsworth would appreciate,with her genuine love of nature and literature and her sincere care for her fellow beings.Zhou Ming constantly reminds me of possessing the ability of striking a balanle between a deaoted reader and a discerning critic.Conversations with them about life and literatwre have deepened my understanding of Wordsworth.
My sincere thanks also go to some good friends in Scotland,Dane Murdoch,Francesca Dixon and Eva Spevack,who provided inspirations,suggestions and timely assistance.They demonstrated to me what it means to be well educated,by family,school or circumstances,and thus became the living proof of Wordsworth's educational thoughts.They have also kindly proofread part of this book with sympathy,sensitivity and efficiency.
I shall also thank my family for their material and emotional support over the years.My parents and parents-in-law haven't heard of Wordsworth,but they could have been the heroes and heroines of many Wordswothian poems with their silent suffering and homely virtues.My husband Dr Li Qiujun has accompanied me through this arduous journey with remarkable patience and reassuring love.Our two preschool chi ldren have taught me to better appreciate Wordsworth：
The Child is Father of the Man；
And I could wish my days to be
Bound each to each by natural piety.
This book is dedicated to the English teachers with whom I have studied Wordsworth—his poetry and spirit,both inside and outside of classroom.
