Abstract: Shanhugou Shihua(Notes on Poets and Poetry) is the representative work by Zhang Biaochen， a Northern Song Dynasty critic. In this book， Zhang Biaochen brought forth new ideas about poetry based on researches on a number of poets and their poems. He disagreed about the then popular concept of“Poetry Begets misfortune”， holding that the key to successful poem writing lies not in the“fortune”or“misfortune”of the poets， but in their innate talents of poem writing. Zhang emphasized originality on the basis of inheritance in poem writing and the foremost pursuit of originality should be thematic originality， with language polishing following. He preferred implicit and natural style in poem writing rather than eccentricity. In addition， Zhang Biaochen also made a detailed study on the poets and their works and styles with insightful comments. Zhang Biaochen’ s poetic views are of a typical characteristic of his time.

Key words: Shanhugou Shihua, Zhang Biaochen, poetics views, barriers to poem writing, poetry in the Song Dynasty