Jueju

{{Short description|Form of Chinese poetry}} {{Italic title}} {{Infobox Chinese |title=''Jueju'' |t=絕句 |s=绝句 |l="cut-off lines" |p=juéjù |w=chüeh<sup>2</sup>-chü<sup>4</sup> |mi={{IPAc-cmn|j|üe|2|j|ü|4}} |j=zyut6-geoi3 |y=jyuht-geui |tl=tsua̍t-kù |kanji=絶句 |hiragana=ぜっく |romaji=zekku }}

'''''Jueju''''' ({{Zh|t=絕句|s=绝句|p=juéjù|first=t}}), or '''Chinese quatrain''', is a type of ''[[regulated verse|jintishi]]'' ("modern form poetry") that grew popular among [[Chinese poet]]s in the [[Tang dynasty]] (618–907), although traceable to earlier origins. ''Jueju'' poems are always [[quatrain]]s; or, more specifically, a matched pair of [[couplet]]s, with each line consisting of five or seven [[syllable]]s.{{sfn|Tian|2007|p=143}}

The five-syllable form is called ''wujue'' ({{zh|t=五絕|p=Wǔjué}}) and the seven-syllable form ''[[qijue]]'' ({{zh|t=七絕|p=Qījué|labels=no}}).{{sfn|Egan|2007|pp=199–201}}

== History == The origins of the ''jueju'' style are uncertain.{{sfn|Egan|1993|p=124}} [[Hans Fränkel|Fränkel]] states that it arose from the ''[[yue fu|yuefu]]'' form in the fifth or sixth century.{{sfn|Fränkel|1978|p=212}} This pentasyllabic song form, dominant in the [[Six Dynasties]] period, may have carried over into ''shi'' composition and thus created a hybrid of the ''yuefu'' quatrain and ''shi'' quatrain.{{sfn|Egan|1993|p=124}} Indeed, many [[Tang dynasty]] ''wujue'' poems were inspired by these ''yuefu'' songs.{{sfn|Egan|2007|pp=199–201}}

In the seventh century the jueju developed into its modern form, as one of the three "modern" verse forms, or ''jintishi'', the other two types of ''jintishi'' being the ''[[Lushi (poetry)|lüshi]]'' and the ''[[pailu]]''.{{sfn|Fränkel|1978|p=212}}

The ''jueju'' style was very popular during the Tang dynasty. Many authors composing ''jueju'' poems at the time followed the concept of "seeing the big within the small" ({{zh|t=小中見大|p=Xiǎozhōng jiàndà}}), and thus wrote on topics of a grand scale; philosophy, religion, emotions, history, vast landscapes and more.{{sfn|Egan|2007|pp=199–201}}

Authors known to have composed ''jueju'' poems include [[Du Fu]],{{sfn|Egan|2007|pp=216–217}} [[Du Mu]],{{sfn|Egan|2007|pp=217–219}} [[Li Bai]],{{sfn|Egan|2007|pp=210–212, 216}} [[Li Shangyin]],{{sfn|Egan|2007|p=219}} [[Wang Changling]]{{sfn|Egan|2007|pp=213–215}} and [[Wang Wei (Tang dynasty)|Wang Wei]].{{sfn|Egan|2007|pp=205–209}}

== Form == Traditional [[literary criticism|literary critic]]s considered the ''jueju'' style to be the most difficult form of ''jintishi''. Limited to exactly 20 or 28 [[Chinese character|character]]s,{{sfn|Egan|1993|p=84}} writing a ''jueju'' requires the author to make full use of each character to create a successful poem. This proved to encourage authors to use [[symbol]]ic language to a high degree.{{sfn|Egan|2007|pp=199–201}}

Furthermore, [[Tone (linguistics)|tonal]] [[meter (poetry)|meter]] in ''jueju'', as with other forms of [[Chinese poetry]], is a complex process. It can be compared to the alternation of [[Stress (linguistics)|stressed and unstressed syllable]]s in [[sonnet]]s. A poet writing a ''jueju'' or similar ''lüshi''-style poem needs to alternate level and oblique tones both between and within lines.{{sfn|Cai|2007|pp=169–172}}

Some of the formal rules of the [[regulated verse]] forms were applied in the case of the ''jueju'' curtailed verse: these rules as applied to the ''jueju'' include regular line length, use of a single [[rhyme]] in even-numbered verses, strict patterning of [[Tone (linguistics)|tonal]] alternations, use of a major [[caesura]] before the last three syllables, optional parallelism and grammaticality of each line as a sentence. Each couplet generally forms a distinct unit, and the third line generally introduces some turn of thought or direction within the poem.<ref>Fränkel, 212–214.</ref>

==Structure== ''Jueju'' follows one of the following tonal patterns:{{sfn|Cai|2007|pp=169–172}} ;Type I, Standard {| class="wikitable" |- |Additional in ''qijue''||''wujue''||Rhyming |- |○○||●●○○●|| |- |●●||○○●●○||✓ |- |●●||○○○●●|| |- |○○||●●●○○||✓ |}

;Type II, Standard {| class="wikitable" |- |Additional in ''qijue''||''wujue''||Rhyming |- |●●||○○○●●|| |- |○○||●●●○○||✓ |- |○○||●●○○●|| |- |●●||○○●●○||✓ |}

;Type I, Variant {| class="wikitable" |- |Additional in ''qijue''||''wujue''||Rhyming |- |○○||●●●○○||✓ |- |●●||○○●●○||✓ |- |●●||○○○●●|| |- |○○||●●●○○||✓ |}

;Type II, Variant {| class="wikitable" |- |Additional in ''qijue''||''wujue''||Rhyming |- |●●||○○●●○||✓ |- |○○||●●●○○||✓ |- |○○||●●○○●|| |- |●●||○○●●○||✓ |}

○ is a character with a [[Four tones (Middle Chinese)|level tone]], while ● is a character with an [[Four tones (Middle Chinese)|oblique tone]] (a rising, departing or entering tone).

== Example == This poem is called "[[Spring Lament]]" ({{zh|t=春怨|s=春怨|p=Chūn yuàn}}) and was written by [[Jin Changxu]].{{sfn|Egan|2007|p=204}} {| ! <div style='text-align: left; direction: ltr; margin-left: 0em;'> Traditional Chinese</div> ! <div style='text-align: left; direction: ltr; margin-left: 0em;'> Simplified Chinese</div> ! <div style='text-align: left; direction: ltr; margin-left: 3em;'> English translation</div> |- | style="padding-right: 3em;" | {{lang|zh-Hant| 春怨

打起黃鶯兒<br /> 莫教枝上啼<br /> 啼時驚妾夢<br /> 不得到遼西 }} | style="padding-right: 3em;" | {{lang|zh-Hans| 春怨

打起黄莺儿<br /> 莫教枝上啼<br /> 啼时惊妾梦<br /> 不得到辽西 }} | style="padding-left: 3em;" | "Spring Lament"

Hit the yellow oriole<br /> Don't let it sing on the branches<br /> When it sings, it breaks into my dreams<br /> And keeps me from Liaoxi!<br /> |}

This poem concerns a standard figure in this type of poetry, a lonely woman who is despondent over the absence of a husband or lover, probably a soldier who has gone to [[Liaoxi Commandery|Liaoxi]] in present-day [[Mongolia]]. She chases away the orioles to stop their singing in the first couplet. The second couplet gives the reason. The bird songs interrupted her sweet morning dream to see her husband in the far away land. The words and phrases tug at her heart.{{sfn|Egan|2007|p=204}}

== See also == {{Portal|China|History|Poetry}} {{Div col|colwidth=20em}} * [[Classical Chinese poetry]] * [[Shi (poetry)]] * [[Ci (poetry)]] * [[Fu (poetry)]] * [[Lüshi (poetry)]] * [[Qijue]] * "[[Quiet Night Thought]]" * [[Qu (poetry)]] * [[Regulated verse]] * [[Shichigon-zekku]] * ''[[Three Hundred Tang Poems]]'' {{Div col end}}

== References == === Citations === {{Reflist|20em}}

=== Sources === {{refbegin}} * {{cite book |last=Cai |first=Zong-qi |title=How to Read Chinese Poetry |editor-last=Cai |editor-first=Zong-qi |publisher=Columbia University Press |location=New York |date=December 2007 |pages=161–180 |chapter=Recent-Style ''Shi'' Poetry: Pentasyllabic Regulated-Verse |isbn=978-0-231-13941-0}} * {{Cite journal |last=Egan |first=Charles |year=1993 |title=A Critical Study of the Origins of ''Chüeh-chü'' Poetry |journal=Asia Major |issue=pt. 1 |volume=6 |series=3rd ser. |pages=83–125 |url=http://www.ihp.sinica.edu.tw/~asiamajor/pdf/1993a/83.pdf |access-date=2008-06-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101204044017/http://www.ihp.sinica.edu.tw/%7Easiamajor//pdf/1993a/83.pdf |archive-date=2010-12-04 |url-status=dead}} * {{cite book |last=Egan |first=Charles |title=How to Read Chinese Poetry |editor-last=Cai |editor-first=Zong-qi |publisher=Columbia University Press |location=New York |pages=199–225 |date=December 2007 |chapter=Recent-Style ''Shi'' Poetry |isbn=978-0-231-13941-0}} * {{cite book |last=Tian |first=Xiaofei |title=How to Read Chinese Poetry |editor-last=Cai |editor-first=Zong-qi |publisher=Columbia University Press |location=New York |date=December 2007 |pages=141–157 |chapter=Pentasyllabic ''Shi'' Poetry: New Topics |isbn=978-0-231-13941-0}} * {{cite book |last=Fränkel |first=Hans H. |title=The Flowering Plum and the Palace Lady |year=1978 |publisher=Yale University Press |location=New Haven |isbn=0-300-02242-5 |edition=2nd |author-link=Hans Fränkel}} {{refend}}

== External links == * [http://www.chinaknowledge.de/Literature/Poetry/tangshi.html "The Whole Collection of Tang Poetry"]

[[Category:Chinese poetry forms]] [[Category:Jueju]]