What has traditionally been the main matter explored by Cantonese literati? Oceanic elements and riparian scenes contrasted with rock formations; a love for the exotic, especially local plants, products, and lore; Daoist transcendentalism; and a fierce pride in being culturally authentic Chinese.

The Southern Garden Poetry Society in Guangzhou was the only major literary club in Chinese history to be periodically reconvened over the Ming, Qing, and Republican eras. Beginning with an examination of its five founding members during the Yuan/Ming period, in particular Sun Fen (1335–1393), the author traces the various elements of this Southern Muse that became embodied in later Cantonese poetry, further examining the issue of social memory through later reconvenings of the society.