Gushi (poetry)

Gushi (traditional Chinese: 古詩; simplified Chinese: 古诗; pinyin: gǔ​shī; Wade-Giles: ku-shih) is a type of Classical Chinese poem literally meaning "old (or ancient) poetry" or "old (or ancient) style poetry": gushi is a technical term for certain historically exemplary poems together with poetry composed in this formal style. Gushi poems first became prominent with the Nineteen Old Poems (literally, "Nineteen Gushi"), which seem to date to the Han Dynasty, in the first or second century CE.^[1] These nineteen poems are generally characterized as rhymed verse, in the five-character line, unregulated style. The gushi style experienced a great revival during the Tang Dynasty, during which one of the greatest practitioners of this style was Li Bo. Gushi poetry is one of the most important poetry forms of Classical Chinese poetry.

See also

• Classical Chinese poetry
• Classical Chinese poetry forms
• Li Bai
• Regulated verse

Notes

References

• Birrell, Anne (1988). Popular Songs and Ballads of Han China. (London: Unwin Hyman). ISBN 0-04-440037-8
• Watson, Burton (1971). CHINESE LYRICISM: Shih Poetry from the Second to the Twelfth Century. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-03464-4