Chinese poetry is poetry written, spoken, or chanted in the Chinese language , and a part of the Chinese literature . While this last term comprises Classical Chinese , Standard Chinese , Mandarin Chinese , Yue Chinese , and other historical and vernacular forms of the language, its poetry generally falls into one of two primary types, Classical Chinese poetry and Modern Chinese poetry .
41-491: Yuefu are Chinese poems composed in a folk song style. The term originally literally meant " Music Bureau ", a reference to the imperial Chinese governmental organization(s) originally charged with collecting or writing the lyrics , later the term yuefu was applied to later literary imitations or adaptations of the Music Bureau's poems. The use of fu in yuefu is different from the other Chinese term fu that refers to
82-500: A certain elusiveness when it comes to strict definition. Furthermore, the literary application of the term yuefu in the modern sense of a classical form of poetry seems not to have had contemporary application until considerably after the end of the Han dynasty, thus adding a certain historically ambiguity due to its use in this literary sense not having occurred until centuries after the actual development of this type of verse itself. The use of
123-462: A four-line poem with five, six, or seven characters per line. Good examples of the jueju verse form can be found in the poems of Li Bai and Wang Wei . Over time, some Tang poetry became more realistic, more narrative and more critical of social norms; for example, these traits can be seen in the works of Bai Juyi . The poetry of the Tang dynasty remains influential today. Other Late Tang poetry developed
164-463: A more allusive and surreal character, as can be seen, for example, in the works of Li He and Li Shangyin . By the Song dynasty (960–1279), another form had proven it could provide the flexibility that new poets needed: the ci (词/詞) lyric—new lyrics written according to the set rhythms of existing tunes. Each of the tunes had music that has often been lost, but having its own meter. Thus, each ci poem
205-468: A type of poetry or literature: although homonyms in English, the other fu ( simplified Chinese : 赋 ; traditional Chinese : 賦 ; pinyin : fù ) is a rhapsodic poetry/prose form of literature. The term yuefu covers original folk songs, court imitations and versions by known poets (such as those of Li Bai ). As opposed to what appears to be more of an authentic anonymous folk verse which
246-434: Is labeled "To the tune of [Tune Name]" (调寄[词牌]/調寄[詞牌]) and fits the meter and rhyme of the tune (much in the same way that Christian hymn writers set new lyrics to pre-existing tunes). The titles of ci poems are not necessarily related to their subject matter, and many poems may share a title. In terms of their content, ci poetry most often expressed feelings of desire, often in an adopted persona. However, great exponents of
287-520: Is the fu . The poetic period of the end of the Han dynasty and the beginning of the Six Dynasties era is known as Jian'an poetry . An important collection of Han poetry is the Nineteen Old Poems . Between and over-lapping the poetry of the latter days of the Han and the beginning period of the Six Dynasties was Jian'an poetry. Examples of surviving poetry from this period include the works of
328-494: Is the mystic poet Hai Zi , who became very famous after his suicide. In the early twenty-first century, many of the traditional uses of Chinese poetry remain intact in the modern era. These include relationships between politics and poetry, and also completely traditional practices in folk culture such as posting New Year's couplets . Following Taiwanese poets like Yu Kwang-chung , Yang Mu , Xi Murong and Yang Chia-hsien , many new-generation poets have emerged. In May 2022,
369-598: The New Century New Generation Poetry Selection , edited by Taiwanese poets Xiang Yang , targets the millennials poets (born between 1980 and 1999, active from 2000 to 2022) who created modern poetry in Taiwan. It includes 52 poets such as Liao Chi-Yu, Yang Chih-Chieh , Hsu Pei-Fen, Zhuxue Deren , Tsao Yu-Po and Lin Yu-Hsuan . In February 2024, Zhuxue Deren 's poem "Moon Museum" was selected by
410-536: The Shi Jing (詩經) and Chu Ci (楚辭). Both of these have had a great impact on the subsequent poetic tradition. Earlier examples of ancient Chinese poetry may have been lost because of the vicissitudes of history, such as the burning of books and burying of scholars (焚書坑儒) by Qin Shi Huang , although one of the targets of this last event was the Shi Jing , which has nevertheless survived. The elder of these two works,
451-731: The Shijing (also familiarly known, in English, as the Classic of Poetry and as the Book of Songs or transliterated as the Sheh Ching ) is a preserved collection of Classical Chinese poetry from over two millennia ago. Its content is divided into 3 parts: Feng (風, folk songs from 15 small countries, 160 songs in total), Ya (雅, Imperial court songs, subdivided into daya and xiaoya, 105 songs in total) and Song (頌, singing in ancestral worship, 40 songs in total).This anthology received its final compilation sometime in
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#1732869103168492-731: The Arch Mission Foundation for the Arch Lunar Art Archive. The poem was carried to the Moon by the Odysseus lunar lander for permanent preservation, making it the earliest known Chinese poem to land on the Moon. However, even today, the concept of modern poetry is still debated. There are arguments and contradiction as to whether modern poetry counts as poetry. Due to the special structure of Chinese writing and Chinese grammar, modern poetry, or free verse poetry, may seem like
533-521: The Han dynasty have been held in high regard over the history of Chinese poetry . The Han yuefu tradition inherited the traditional realistic approach of the Shi Jing ' s, "feeling of funeral music, causes behind the affairs". Folk songs collected or written by the Musical Department in the Han dynasty were typically done from the perspective of a certain set of personas —vividly and visually mirroring
574-450: The Han dynasty , a folk-song style of poetry became popular, known as yuefu (樂府/乐府) " Music Bureau " poems, so named because of the government's role in collecting such poems, although in time some poets began composing original works in yuefu style. Many yuefu poems are composed of five-character (五言) or seven-character (七言) lines, in contrast to the four-character lines of earlier times. A characteristic form of Han dynasty literature
615-475: The Imperial examinations taken by anyone wanting a government post. By this point, poetry was being composed according to regulated tone patterns . Regulated and unregulated poetry were distinguished as "ancient-style" gushi poetry and regulated, "recent-style" jintishi poetry. Jintishi (meaning "new style poetry"), or regulated verse, is a stricter form developed in the early Tang dynasty with rules governing
656-479: The "Modernist School", the "Blue Star", and the "Epoch". In the contemporary poetic scene, the most important and influential poets are in the group known as Misty Poets , who use oblique allusions and hermetic references. The most important Misty Poets include Bei Dao , Duo Duo , Shu Ting , Yang Lian , and Gu Cheng , most of whom were exiled after the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 . A special case
697-521: The "Three Caos": Cao Cao , Cao Pi , and Cao Zhi . The Six Dynasties era (220–589 CE) was one of various developments in poetry, both continuing and building on the traditions developed and handed down from previous eras and also leading up to further developments of poetry in the future. Major examples of poetry surviving from this dynamic era include the works of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove ,
738-553: The 7th century BCE. The collection contains both aristocratic poems regarding life at the royal court ("Odes") and also more rustic poetry and images of natural settings, derived at least to some extent from folksongs ("Songs"). The Shijing poems are predominantly composed of four-character lines (四言), rather than the five and seven character lines typical of later Classical Chinese poetry. The main techniques of expression (rhetorics) are Fu (賦, Direct elaborate narrative), bi (比, metaphor) and Xing (興, describe other thing to foreshadowing
779-568: The Fu poetic form. A high point of classical Chinese poetry occurred during the Tang period (618–907): not only was this period prolific in poets; but, also in poems (perhaps around 50,000 poems survive, many of them collected in the Complete Tang Poems ). During the time of, poetry was integrated into almost every aspect of the professional and social life of the literate class, including becoming part of
820-813: The South and the East" (孔雀东南飞), In the Tang dynasty : "The Moon at the Fortified Pass (關山月/关山月/guānshān yuè) by Li Bai and the Songs of the Border (塞上曲/sàishàng qǔ) genre. Chinese poetry Poetry is consistently held in high regard in China , often incorporating expressive folk influences filtered through the minds of Chinese literati. Poetry provides a format and a forum for both public and private expressions of deep emotion, offering an audience of peers, readers, and scholars insight into
861-448: The anthology dates to Wang I 's 158 CE compilation and notes, which are the only historically reliable sources of both the text and information regarding its composition. During the Han dynasty (206 BCE−220 CE), the Chu Ci style of poetry contributed to the evolution of the fu ("descriptive poem") style, typified by a mixture of verse and prose passages (often used as a virtuoso display
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#1732869103168902-414: The departure of friends, attempts to visit not-to-be-found-hermits, and romantic love in relationship to singing "girls" , dancers or other professional entertainers, or the feelings of or for the ladies of the palace harems. In the Han dynasty : "Mulberry By Road" (陌上桑)， "Armed Escort" (羽林郎), "White Hair Intonation" (白头吟), "Thinking is Being" (有所思), "The Old Soldier's Return" (十五从军征), "The Peacocks Fly to
943-643: The end of the imperial period . Both shi and ci continued to be composed past the end of the imperial period ; one example being Mao Zedong , former Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party , who wrote Classical Chinese poetry in his own calligraphic style. Modern Chinese poetry (新诗/新詞 "new poetry") refers to the modern vernacular style of poetry, as opposed to the traditional poetry written in Classical Chinese language. Usually Modern Chinese poetry does not follow prescribed patterns. Poetry
984-553: The form, such as the Southern Tang poet Li Houzhu and the Song dynasty poet Su Shi , used the ci form to address a wide range of topics. Major developments of poetry during the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368) included the development of types of poetry written to fixed-tone patterns, such as for the Yuan opera librettos. After the Song dynasty, the set rhythms of the ci came to be reflected in
1025-422: The inner life of Chinese writers across more than two millennia. Chinese poetry often reflects the influence of China's various religious traditions. Classical Chinese poetry includes, perhaps first and foremost shi (詩/诗), and also other major types such as ci (詞/词) and qu (曲). There is also a traditional Chinese literary form called fu (賦/赋), which defies categorization into English more than
1066-535: The interluding/overlapping periods of the brief so-called Shun dynasty (also known as Dashun, 1644–1645) and the Southern Ming dynasty (1644 to 1662). One example of poets who wrote during the difficult times of the late Ming , when the already troubled nation was ruled by Chongzhen Emperor (reigned 1627 to 1644), the short-lived Dashun regime of peasant-rebel Li Zicheng , and then the Manchu Qing dynasty are
1107-666: The main content). In contrast to the classic Shijing , the Chu Ci anthology (also familiarly known, in English, as the Songs of Chu or the Songs of the South or transliterated as the Chu Tz'u ) consists of verses more emphasizing lyric and romantic features, as well as irregular line-lengths and other influences from the poetry typical of the state of Chu . The Chuci collection consists primarily of poems ascribed to Qu Yuan (屈原) (329–299 BCE) and his follower Song Yu , although in its present form
1148-522: The other terms, but perhaps can best be described as a kind of prose-poem . During the modern period, there also has developed free verse in Western style. Traditional forms of Chinese poetry are rhymed , but the mere rhyming of text may not qualify literature as being poetry; and, as well, the lack of rhyme would not necessarily disqualify a modern work from being considered poetry, in the sense of modern Chinese poetry. The earliest extant anthologies are
1189-552: The perceived typical characters of people whose lives mirrored the different social roles which typified the society of the Han dynasty. During the last century or two of the Han dynasty, the poets of the time were noted for writing "literary yuefu", that is yuefu inspired by or imitating the Music Bureau pieces. During the Jian'an period at the end of the Han dynasty and into the Three Kingdoms period yuefu continued to be written. Often,
1230-654: The poems of the Orchid Pavilion Gathering , the Midnight Songs poetry of the four seasons, the great "fields and garden" poet "Tao Yuanming", the Yongming epoch poets, and the poems collected in the anthology New Songs from the Jade Terrace , compiled by Xu Ling (507–83). The general and poet Lu Ji used Neo-Taoist cosmology to take literary theory in a new direction with his Wen fu , or "Essay on Literature" in
1271-407: The poet's skills and knowledge rather than to convey intimate emotional experiences). The fu form remained popular during the subsequent Six Dynasties period, although it became shorter and more personal. The fu form of poetry remains as one of the generic pillars of Chinese poetry; although, in the Tang dynasty , five-character and seven-character shi poetry begins to dominate. Also during
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1312-434: The point of recycling the old titles and themes of yuefu of the Han dynasty. The poets behind this "new yuefu" style included many famous poets, such as Li Bai , Du Fu , Bai Juyi , and Yuan Zhen , who participated in the development of this new style and the creation of various individual poems inspired by and inspirational to it. The patterns of new yuefu can be quite free or can take the form of five characters per line or
1353-521: The set-rhythm pieces of Chinese Sanqu poetry (散曲), a freer form based on new popular songs and dramatic arias, that developed and lasted into the Ming dynasty (1368–1644). Examples can be seen in the work of playwrights Ma Zhiyuan 馬致遠 ( c. 1270 –1330) and Guan Hanqing 關漢卿 ( c. 1300 ). The Ming dynasty (1368–1644) poets include Gao Qi (1336–1374), Li Dongyang (1447–1516), and Yuan Hongdao (1568–1610). Ming-Qing Transition includes
1394-438: The seven-character per line poems; however, the topics are often conventional. Similar to the ballad tradition of the earlier yuefu, many of the Tang yuefu are spoken in the voice of some persona, often that of a hunter, a peasant girl, or a soldier at the frontier. Similarly, the subjects and themes of the Tang yuefu vary from simply providing song lyrics, to engaging in social satire or criticism, literary exercise, lamentations at
1435-571: The so-called Three Masters of Jiangdong : Wu Weiye (1609–1671), Qian Qianyi (1582–1664), and Gong Dingzi (1615–1673). The Qing dynasty (1644 to 1912) is notable in terms of development of the criticism of poetry and the development of important poetry collections, such as the Qing era collections of Tang dynasty poetry known as the Complete Tang Poems and the Three Hundred Tang Poems . Both shi and ci continued to be composed beyond
1476-508: The structure of a poem, in terms of line-length, number of lines, tonal patterns within the lines, the use of rhyme , and a certain level of mandatory parallelism. Good examples of the gushi and jintishi forms can be found in, respectively, the works of the poets Li Bai and Du Fu . Tang poetic forms include: lushi , a type of regulated verse with an eight-line form having five, six, or seven characters per line; ci (verse following set rhythmic patterns); and jueju (truncated verse),
1517-599: The style of the Romantic poets with end-rhymes. In the post-revolutionary Communist era, poets like Ai Qing used more liberal running lines and direct diction, which were vastly popular and widely imitated. At the same time, modernist poetry , including avant-garde and surrealism , flourished in Taiwan , as exemplified by the poetry of Qin Zihao (1902–1963) and Ji Xian (b. 1903). Most influential poetic groups were founded in 1954
1558-644: The term yuefu to generically refer to this form of poetry does not seem to appear until the late fifth century CE. The word yuefu came first into being in Qin dynasty (221 BC – 206 BC). Yue (樂) means "music", fu (府) means "bureau": put together yuefu means "Music Bureau". Yuefu is particularly associated with the Han poetry of the Han dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD), and became a royal government-managed music involving collecting, writing or performing folk songs and ballads in 112 BC. Afterwards, people called poems composed in this folk song style yuefu . The yuefu poems of
1599-509: The yuefu appearing in Jian'an poetry more personally emotional than the Music Bureau pieces. During the Six Dynasties era, a form of yuefu using regular five-character quatrains (or paired couplets) similar to the jueju appears in the Midnight Songs poetry . During the Tang dynasty certain poets wrote a series of new poems in great variety and profoundness influenced by even sometimes to
1640-408: Was collected by the Music Bureau, verse written deliberately in this style, often by known authors, is often referred to as "literary yuefu ". The lines of the yuefu can be of uneven length, reflecting its origins as a type of fixed-rhythm verse derived from now lost folk ballad tunes; although, later, the five-character fixed-line length became common. However, as a term of classification yuefu has
1681-493: Was revolutionized after 1919's May Fourth Movement , when writers (like Hu Shih ) tried to use vernacular styles related with folksongs and popular poems such as ci closer to what was being spoken ( baihua ) rather than previously prescribed forms. Early 20th-century poets like Xu Zhimo , Guo Moruo (later moved to the proletarian literature ) and Wen Yiduo sought to break Chinese poetry from past conventions by adopting Western models. For example, Xu consciously follows