This quotation is from the chapter “Essay of Mourning and Essay of Memory”of the book The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons. Liu Xie (465?-520? or 532?), author during the Southern Dynasties, holds that if an author, with no real ache in heart, exaggerates and sensationalizes grief and sorrow in writing, it is impossible for the lament to touch the reader’s heart. Only when a lament is based on one’s own heartfelt sorrow or on real empathy forthe loss of others in the case he writes on behalf of someone can it convey emotional power. Writers should not abuse rhetoric and creative skills in blind pursuit of a moving effect. Nor should they deviate from the elegiac purpose and the funereal tone of laments to seek rhetorical showiness and formal beauty. With this quotation, Liu Xie further interprets the opposing ideas of “producing emotions for a piece of writing” and “producing a piece of writing for emotional effect.”

If an author writes with a mournful heart, the lament will be satisfactory; but if an author manipulates his heart to conform to the writing, the lament will be extravagant in style. With such stylistic extravagance, the author’s words are ornate, yet empty of grief. Therefore, an author must invest emotionally in a lament, so that he can experience grief. Laments written in this way can move readers to tears and be regarded as precious pieces of writing. (Liu Xie: The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons)

Look at the works by Pan Yue. The laments feature elaborate compositions, diverse wording, elegiac sentiments, biographical narratives, and structures in imitation of the poems in The Book of Songs, brisk four-character sentences, and free from verbose ones. (Liu Xie: The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons)

The laments written by Pan Yue are infused with heartfelt sentiments so they reach the heart. (The History of the Jin Dynasty)