Chinese poetry in the context of "Classical Chinese poetry"

The Classic of Poetry, also Shijing or Shih-ching, translated variously as the Book of Songs, Book of Odes, or simply known as the Odes or Poetry (詩; Shī), is the oldest existing collection of Chinese poetry, comprising 305 works dating from the 11th to 7th centuries BC. It is one of the "Five Classics" traditionally said to have been edited by Confucius, and has been studied and memorized by scholars in China and neighboring countries over two millennia. It is also a rich source of chengyu (four-character classical idioms) that are still a part of learned discourse and even everyday language in modern Chinese. Since the Qing dynasty, its rhyme patterns have also been analysed in the study of Old Chinese phonology.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

Tone patterns (Chinese: 平仄; pinyin: píngzè; Jyutping: ping4 zak1; Tâi-lô: piânn-ceh) are common constraints in classical Chinese poetry.

The four tones of Middle Chinese—level (平), rising (上), departing (去), and entering (入) tones—are categorized into level (平) tones and oblique (仄) tones. Tones that are not level are oblique. When tone patterns are used in poetry, the pattern in which level and oblique tones occur in one line is often the inverse of that of the line next to it. For example, in the poem 春望 (pinyin: chūn wàng, Spring View) by Du Fu, the tone pattern of the first line is 仄仄平平仄, while that of the second line is 平平仄仄平:

Japanese poetry is poetry typical of Japan, or written, spoken, or chanted in the Japanese language, which includes Old Japanese, Early Middle Japanese, Late Middle Japanese, and Modern Japanese, as well as poetry in Japan which was written in the Chinese language or ryūka from the Okinawa Islands: it is possible to make a more accurate distinction between Japanese poetry written in Japan or by Japanese people in other languages versus that written in the Japanese language by speaking of Japanese-language poetry. Much of the literary record of Japanese poetry begins when Japanese poets encountered Chinese poetry during the Tang dynasty (although the Chinese classic anthology of poetry, Shijing, was well known by the literati of Japan by the 6th century). Under the influence of the Chinese poets of this era Japanese began to compose poetry in Chinese (kanshi); and, as part of this tradition, poetry in Japan tended to be intimately associated with pictorial painting, partly because of the influence of Chinese arts, and the tradition of the use of ink and brush for both writing and drawing. It took several hundred years to digest the foreign impact and make it an integral part of Japanese culture and to merge this kanshi poetry into a Japanese language literary tradition, and then later to develop the diversity of unique poetic forms of native poetry, such as waka, haikai, and other more Japanese poetic specialties. For example, in the Tale of Genji both kanshi and waka are frequently mentioned. The history of Japanese poetry goes from an early semi-historical/mythological phase, through the early Old Japanese literature inclusions, just before the Nara period, the Nara period itself (710 to 794), the Heian period (794 to 1185), the Kamakura period (1185 to 1333), and so on, up through the poetically important Edo period (1603 to 1867, also known as "Tokugawa") and modern times; however, the history of poetry often is different from socio-political history.

Su Song (Chinese: 蘇頌; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: So͘ Siōng, 1020–1101), courtesy name Zirong (Chinese: 子容; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Chú-iông), was a Chinese polymathic scientist and statesman who lived during the Song dynasty (960–1279). He excelled in numerous fields including but not limited to mathematics, astronomy, cartography, geography, metallurgy, mechanical engineering, hydraulic engineering, poetry, and statesmanship.

Su Song was the engineer for a hydro-mechanical astronomical clock tower located in Kaifeng. It employed an early escapement mechanism. The escapement mechanism of Su's clock tower was invented by the Tang dynasty Buddhist monk Yi Xing and government official Liang Lingzan in 725 AD to operate a water-powered armillary sphere, however Su's armillary sphere was the first to utilize a mechanical clock drive. Su's clock tower also featured the oldest known endless power-transmitting chain drive, called the tian ti (天梯), or "celestial ladder", as depicted in his horological treatise. The clock tower had 133 different clock jacks to indicate and sound the hours. The clock was dismantled by the invading Jurchen army in 1127 AD, and although attempts were made to reassemble it, the tower was never successfully reinstated.

Emperor Huizong of Song (7 June 1082 – 4 June 1135), personal name Zhao Ji, was the eighth emperor of the Song dynasty of China and the penultimate emperor of the Northern Song dynasty. He was also a very well-known painter, poet and calligrapher. Born as the 11th son of Emperor Shenzong, he ascended the throne in 1100 upon the death of his elder brother and predecessor, Emperor Zhezong, because Emperor Zhezong's only son died prematurely. He lived in luxury, sophistication and art in the first half of his life. In 1126, when the Jurchen-led Jin dynasty invaded the Song dynasty during the Jin–Song Wars, Emperor Huizong abdicated and passed on his throne to his eldest son, Zhao Huan while Huizong assumed the honorary title of Taishang Huang (or "Retired Emperor"). The following year, the Song capital, Bianjing, was conquered by Jin forces in an event historically known as the Jingkang Incident. Emperor Huizong and Emperor Qinzong and the rest of their family were taken captive by the Jurchens and brought back to the Jin capital, Huining Prefecture in 1128. The Emperor Taizong of Jin, gave the former Emperor Huizong a title, Duke Hunde (literally "Besotted Duke"), to humiliate him. After Zhao Gou, the only surviving son of Huizong to avoid capture by the Jin, declared himself as the dynasty's tenth emperor as Emperor Gaozong, the Jurchens used Huizong, Qinzong, and other imperial family members to put pressure on Gaozong and his court to surrender. Emperor Huizong died in Wuguocheng after spending about nine years in captivity. He, along with his successors, were blamed for the Song dynasty's decline.

Although he wasn't a competent administrator, Emperor Huizong was known for his promotion of Taoism and talents in poetry, painting, calligraphy and music. He sponsored numerous artists at his imperial court, and the catalogue of his collection listed over 6,000 known paintings.

West Lake, also known as Xihu and by other names, is a freshwater lake in Hangzhou, China. Situated to the west of Hangzhou's former walled city, the lake has a surface area of 6.39 km (2.47 sq mi), stretching 3.2 km (2.0 mi) from north to south and 2.8 km (1.7 mi) from east to west. In the lake are four causeways, three artificial islands, and Gushan, the only natural island. Gentle hills surround the lake on its north, west, and south sides, with the Leifeng and Baochu pagodas standing in pair on the south and north banks. Several famous temples are nestled in the mountains west of the lake, including Lingyin and Jingci Temples.

A tourist attraction since the Tang dynasty (618–907), the lake has influenced poets and painters throughout Chinese history for its natural beauty and historic relics. By the Song dynasty (960–1279), during which the dynastic capital moved to Hangzhou, it had become a cultural landmark and one of the most visited tourist destinations of China. Introduced to Europeans by Marco Polo, the lake was once a symbol of Chinese urban culture. It has been featured on Chinese currency, including the one-yuan banknote in the 1979 Bank of China Foreign Exchange Certificate and the 2005 Renminbi, as well as in the Chinese passport. A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2011, the lake is recognised to have influenced garden designs in China, Japan, and Korea over the centuries as "an idealised fusion between humans and nature."

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 publication of the Classic of Poetry, dating from a traditionally, and roughly, estimated time of around 11th–7th century BCE. The term "forms" refers to various formal and technical aspects applied to poems: this includes such poetic characteristics as meter (such as, line length and number of lines), rhythm (for example, presence of caesuras, end-stopping, and tone contour), and other considerations such as vocabulary and style. These forms and modes are generally, but not invariably, independent of the Classical Chinese poetry genres. Many or most of these were developed by the time of the Tang dynasty, and the use and development of Classical Chinese poetry and genres actively continued up until the May Fourth Movement, and still continues even today in the 21st century.

Modernist poetry in English started in the early years of the 20th century with the appearance of the Imagists. Like other modernists, Imagist poets wrote in reaction to the perceived excesses of Victorian poetry, and its emphasis on traditional formalism and ornate diction.

In Preface to the Lyrical Ballads, published in 1800, William Wordsworth criticized what he perceived to be the gauche and pompous nature of British poetry over a century earlier, and instead sought to bring poetry to the layman. Modernists saw themselves as looking back to the best practices of poets in earlier periods and other cultures. Their models included ancient Greek literature, Chinese and Japanese poetry, the troubadours, Dante and the medieval Italian philosophical poets, such as Guido Cavalcanti, and the English Metaphysical poets.