Poetry other variations of "shi" poetry, generally either a four line (quatrain, or "jueju") or else an eight line poem is normal; either way with the even numbered lines rhyming. The line length is scanned by according number of characters (according to the convention that one character equals one syllable), and are predominantly either five or seven characters long, with a caesura before the final three syllables. The lines are generally end-stopped, considered as a series of couplets, and exhibit verbal parallelism as a key poetic device. The "old style" verse ("gushi") is less formally strict than the "jintishi", or regulated
Lüshi (poetry) Lüshi (poetry) Lüshi () refers to a specific form of Classical Chinese poetry verse form. One of the most important poetry forms of classical Chinese poetry, the "lüshi" refers to an eight-line regulated verse form with lines made up of five, six, or seven characters; thus: All "lüshi" forms are rhymed on the even lines, with one rhyme being used throughout the poem. Also, and definitionally, the tonal profile of the poem is controlled (that is, "regulated"). Although the idea of regulating the tonal pattern of poetry can be traced back to Shen Yue, the "lüshi" form did not reach