 He began writing poetry in vernacular Chinese in 1917, and was credited with having coined the Chinese feminine pronoun "ta" (), which differs from masculine 他 and neuter 它 only in writing, but not in pronunciation, and which he made use of in his poems.The usage was popularised by the song "Jiao Wo Ruhe Bu Xiang Ta" (教我如何不想她 "Tell me how to stop thinking of her"), a "pop hit" in the 1930s in China.The lyrics were written by him and the melody by Yuen Ren Chao.