经典古诗词-鉴赏中国古诗词文化 1.0

Chinese poetry is a unique literary form characterized by specific structures and rhythms. It is divided into two main categories based on tonal rules: the ancient style (古体诗) and the modern style (近体诗), concepts that originated during the Tang Dynasty.

Content-wise, poetry can be classified into several types, including narrative poems, lyric poems, farewell poems, frontier poems, pastoral poems, historical poems, elegies, object poems, and military poems. Ancient poetry encompasses works such as "Book of Songs" (诗经), "Songs of Chu" (楚辞), "Music Bureau" (乐府), and Han fu (汉赋), along with folk songs from the Northern and Southern Dynasties. In contrast, modern poetry typically consists of quatrains (绝句), regulated verse (律诗), and long regulated verse (排律).

From a literary perspective, the typical style of seven-character ancient poetry is described as straightforward and robust, while the typical style of song forms is noted for its fluidity and richness. The treatise "Wen Zhang Bian Ti Xu" suggests that “the excellence of seven-character ancient poetry lies in its forceful expressions,” adding that "long prose is termed song," and emphasizing the divergent tonal qualities between them. Similarly, "Shi Sou" remarks on these distinctions, indicating how ancient poetry adheres to a rigid tone while modern poetry is constrained by the sound rules. It highlights that song forms lack fixed structures, which allows for greater creativity. Prominent poets such as Li Bai and Du Fu have excelled more in song forms than in ancient poetry.

"Zhao Mei Zhan Yan" states that “the beauty of seven-character ancient poetry includes elements that are朴 (simple),拙 (clumsy),琐 (trivial),曲 (curved),硬 (hard), and淡 (light), all essential to its essence." Furthermore, it notes that “songs should be fluid rather than precise,” where fluidity implies an elegant flow of sentiments and precision denotes sturdiness in meaning and sophistication in expression. These critiques reveal the aesthetic differences between seven-character ancient poetry and song forms. Despite occasional trends where poets borrow techniques from each style for the other — for instance, Du Fu's "Letter to Han Jianyi," Lu Tong's "Poem on the Lunar Eclipse," Han Yu's "Visiting Mount Heng Temple," and Li Shangyin's "Inscription on Han Stele" rest firmly within seven-character ancient poetry — other works like Wang Wei's "Peach Blossom Spring," Li Bai's "Dreaming of Tianmu," Bai Juyi's "Song of Everlasting Regret," and Wei Zhuang's "Song of the Qin Woman" are quintessentially seven-character song forms.