Why Is Chinese Poetry Important

Poetry had a very important role in the Chinese world of morality and governing. It was the most revered form of writing. It was not about the individual but a direct reaction to the world and a “vessel of shared emotion”.

What makes Chinese poetry special?

Chinese poetry, besides depending on end rhyme and tonal metre for its cadence, is characterized by its compactness and brevity. There are no epics of either folk or literary variety and hardly any narrative or descriptive poems that are long by the standards of world literature.

What is Chinese poetry called?

In modern China, “traditional poetry” (also called “classical”) refers to gu shi 古詩 (old poetry) and encompasses poetic writing since Antiquity to the end of the imperial era.