How to Write Chinese Poetry

Chinese poetry is a literary genre with many forms. Koans, which are traditional four-line poems, date back to the Spring and Autumn period, approximately 770 B.C., of ancient China. All previous records of poetry were lost during the regime of the first Chinese emperor, Qin Shi Huang, who led around 220 B.C. and burned many of China's written records and books. Although modern poetry does not always follow the strict four-line structure of traditional Chinese poetry, classical poetry remains the same.

Instructions

1. Write the initial phase. The first line shows the topic of the poem. For example, a first line might say "Three sons of a cotton seller live in Bejing."

2. Write the continuation of that phrase. The second line expands on the first line, which means it give a little more detail. For example, a second line could say, "The elder son is 7, the middle son is 5, the youngest son is 3."

3. Start a new subject. The third line of traditional Koan poetry leads the reader away from the subject of the first two lines into a completely unrelated topic. For a third line, you might write, "A tree grows quietly in the woods."

4. Relate the lines. The fourth line unites the themes of the first three lines. Think of it as a circle that comes back. In this case, you would relate the tree growing in the woods to the three sons of the cotton seller. For example, you could say, "But, these three boys are never quiet."

Tips & Warnings

• Traditional Chinese poems focus on everyday activities in China, ergo, farming, war craft and merchants.

References

• History of Ancient China

Resources

• China the beautiful
• Chinese poems