Recognizing Genres

of Chinese Poetry
 A four-
syllabic
verse
SHIK- SHING made
popular by
“The Book
of Odes”
 IT IS WRITTEN IN
QUATRAINS (FOUR-
LINE STANZAS) WITH
THE FIRST STANZA
Shik - Shing GIVING THE THEME
WHICH IS REPEATED
IN THE NEXT STANZA
AND SO ON UNTIL
THE CLIMAX IS
REACHED
 Let’s gather and gather the plantains;
Come, let’s pick them up.
Let’s gather and gather the plantains;
Come, We must have them.

Let’s gather and gather the plantains;

EXAMPLE OF Come, let’s pluck them up.
SHIK-SHING Let’s gather and gather the plantains;
Come, let’s rub off their seeds.

Let’s gather and gather the plantains;

Come, let’s carry them with our skirts.
Let’s gather and gather the plantains;
Come, let’s bring them back.
 A poem of
lamentation
and protest
authored by
(LI) SAO China’s first
known great
poet, Chu
Yuan or Qu
Yuan
CROSSING THE RIVER The autumn breeze blows chill. Alone beside the hill.
I halt my carriage here within the wood Never to follow fashion will I stoop,
Since I was young, I have worn My steeds beside the hill. Then must live lonely still.
gorgeous dress In covered vessel travelling upstream,
And still love raiment rare, The men bend to their oars; One sage of old had head shaved like a
A long gem-studded sword hangs at my The boat moves slowly, strong the slave,
side, current sweeps, Good ministers were killed,
And a tall hat I wear. Nearby a whirlpool roars. In nakedness one saint was forced to
Bedecked with pearls that glimmer like roam,
the moon, set out from the bay at early dawn, Another's blood was spilled.
With pendent of fine jade, And reach the town at eve. This has been so from ancient times till
Though there are fools who cannot Since I am upright, and my conscience now,
understand, clear, Then why should I complain?
I ride by undismayed. Why should I grieve to leave? Unflinchingly I still shall follow truth,
I linger by the tributary stream, Nor care if I am slain.
Then give me green-horned serpents for And know not where to go.
my steed, The forest stretches deep and dark Refrain
Or dragons white to ride, around, Now, the phoenix dispossessed,
In paradise with ancient kings I'd roam, Where apes swing to and fro. In the shrine crows make their nest.
Or the world's roof bestride. Withered is the jasmine rare,
My life should thus outlast the universe, The beetling cliffs loom high to shade Fair is foul, and foul is fair,
With sun and moon supreme. the sun, Light is darkness, darkness day,
By southern savages misunderstood, Mist shrouding every rift, Sad at heart I haste away.
At dawn I ford the stream. With sleet and rain as far as eye can
see,
I gaze my last upon the river bank, Where low the dense clouds drift.
Alas! all joy has vanished from my life,
FU
A prose poem that is partially expository and
partly descriptive, involving single thought or
sentiment usually expressed in reflective
manner.
I discovered a journal in the children's ward, and read,
I'm a mother, my little boy has cancer. Further on, a girl
has written, this is my nineteenth operation. She says,
sometimes it's easier to write than to talk, and I'm so
afraid. She's offered me a page in the book. My son is
sleeping in the room next door. This afternoon, I held my
whole weight to his body while a doctor drove needles
deep into his leg. My son screamed, Daddy, they're
hurting me, don't let them hurt me, make them stop. I
want to write, how brave you are, but I need a little
courage of my own, so I write, forgive me, I know I let
them hurt you, please don't worry. If I must, I can do it
again. - Gary Young
LU – SHIH OR REGULATION POETRY

A couplet consisting of five or seven syllabic

verses with definite rhyming scheme and
characterized by parallelism.
FENLAND
LONG STRAIGHT BLACK ROAD FAR FROM HOME
THE MOON HANGS SNAGGED IN THE TREES
FOOT DOWN, I SPEED THROUGH THE NIGHT
RAIN FALLS IN SHEETS, STARTS TO FREEZE

THE CAT’S EYES PULSE LIKE MORSE CODE.

FAR SPARKS SPEED CLOSE, BLAZE THEN FADE.
FOR HOURS ON END THERE’S NO CHANGE:
ROAD, LIGHT, RAIN, WIND, SCREEN AND BLADE.

I’M TIRED AND COLD, ON MY OWN.

HOW MUCH OF THIS CAN I TAKE?
I GRIT MY TEETH, TRY TO GUESS
HOW LONG I’LL LAST TILL I BRAKE.
CHUCK - CHU

Containing only four lines of twenty to twenty – eight syllables

which draw vivid pictures of natural beauty.