''Lüshi'' () refers to a specific form of
Classical Chinese poetry verse form. One of the most important poetry forms of classical Chinese poetry, the ''lüshi'' refers to an eight-line
regulated verse form with lines made up of five, six, or seven characters; thus:
*Five-character eight-line regulated verse (''wulü''): a form of regulated verse with eight lines of five characters each.
*Six-character eight-line regulated verse is relatively rare.
*Seven-character eight-line regulated verse (''qilü''): a form of regulated verse with eight lines of seven characters each.
*Extended forms (''
pailü''): expansion of the forms listed above with more than eight lines.
All ''lüshi'' forms are rhymed on the even lines, with one rhyme being used throughout the poem. Also, and definitionally, the tonal profile of the poem is controlled (that is, "regulated").
Historical development
Although the idea of regulating the tonal pattern of poetry can be traced back to
Shen Yue, the ''lüshi'' form did not reach its final codification until the seventh century.
Well-known examples
Well-known examples of the form include the
Tang poet Li Bai
Li Bai (, 701–762), Literary and colloquial readings, also pronounced Li Bo, courtesy name Taibai (), was a Chinese poet acclaimed as one of the greatest and most important poets of the Tang dynasty and in Chinese history as a whole. He and hi ...
's "Seeing Off a Friend" (送友人) and "On Climbing in Nanjing to the Terrace of Phoenixes" (登金陵鳳凰臺).
See also
*
Classical Chinese poetry forms
Classical Chinese poetry forms are poetry forms or modes which typify the traditional Chinese poems written in Literary Chinese or Classical Chinese. Classical Chinese poetry has various characteristic forms, some attested to as early as the ...
* ''
Jueju''
*
Regulated verse
References
Citations
Sources
* Frankel, Hans H. (1978). ''The Flowering Plum and the Palace Lady''. (New Haven and London: Yale University Press)
* Watson, Burton (1971). ''CHINESE LYRICISM: Shih Poetry from the Second to the Twelfth Century''. (New York: Columbia University Press).
* Yip, Wai-lim (1997). ''Chinese Poetry: An Anthology of Major Modes and Genres ''. (Durham and London: Duke University Press).
Chinese poetry forms
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