How to Read Chinese Poetry A Guided Anthology

r e C e n t-s t y l e Sh i P oe t ry : P e n ta s y l l a biC r e gul at eD v e r s e 171

cated by the shaded areas). In these two tables, I have added in parentheses the
tones for the two additional characters in a heptasyllabic line, which contrast with
those of the first two words of a pentasyllabic line. As shown by the vertical lines,
the tonal patterns of heptasyllabic jueju are an exact copy of those of pentasyllabic
jueju, with only the addition of two more characters.
Once we have worked out the four jueju tonal patterns, it is easy to construct the
four lüshi tonal patterns. All we have to do is follow the same rule of partial equiva-
lence between couplets and add two more couplets—that is, another quatrain—to
each of the four jueju tonal patterns. This brings us to the four lüshi tonal patterns.
As shown by the horizontal dotted lines in the two tables, the four lüshi tonal pat-
terns constitute a doubling of the two standard jueju tonal patterns. This doubling
is exact and complete in the two standard lüshi patterns, but involves a slight, one-
line variation (the shaded part) in the two variant lüshi tonal patterns.

Variant Jueju Tonal Patterns

Type Ia Type IIa
(─ ─) │ │ │ ─ ─ △ (│ │) ─ ─ │ │ ─ △
(│ │) ─ ─ │ │ ─ △ (─ ─) │ │ │ ─ ─ △
(│ │) ─ ─ ─ │ │ (─ ─) │ │ ─ ─ │
(─ ─) │ │ │ ─ ─ △ (│ │) ─ ─ │ │ ─ △
A pentasyllabic jueju employing
this tonal pattern is C10.3 (imperfect).
Heptasyllabic jueju employing this tonal
pattern are C10.12 (poem 4), C10.14
(imperfect), C15.4, C15.7, C15.10, C17.3, and
C17.9.

None of the pentasyllabic jueju

presented in this book employs

this tonal pattern. Heptasyllabic

jueju employing this tonal pattern

are C10.11, C10.12 (poems 1–3),

C10.13 (imperfect), C10.15, C10.16,

C10.17, C15.8, C15.9, and C17.4.

Standard Lüshi Tonal Patterns
Type I Type II
(─ ─) │ │ ─ ─ │ (│ │) ─ ─ ─ │ │
(│ │) ─ ─ │ │ ─ △ (─ ─) │ │ │ ─ ─ △
(│ │) ─ ─ ─ │ │ (─ ─) │ │ ─ ─ │
(─ ─) │ │ │ ─ ─ △ (│ │) ─ ─ │ │ ─ △
(─ ─) │ │ ─ ─ │ (│ │) ─ ─ ─ │ │
(│ │) ─ ─ │ │ ─ △ (─ ─) │ │ │ ─ ─ △
(│ │) ─ ─ ─ │ │ (─ ─) │ │ ─ ─ │
(─ ─) │ │ │ ─ ─ △ (│ │) ─ ─ │ │ ─ △
Pentasyllabic lüshi employing this tonal
pattern are C8.1, C8.2, C17.6, and C17.13.
Heptasyllabic lüshi employing this tonal
pattern are C9.2, C9.3, and C15.1.

Pentasyllabic lüshi employing this

tonal pattern are C8.3 and C17.10.