Regulated verse

One of the styles of classical Chinese poetry. It was established during the Tang dynasty and belongs to the modern style of poetry. There are two types: five-character regulated verse, which consists of eight lines, and seven-character regulated verse, which consists of seven lines. The origin of regulated verse dates back to the Qi and Liang dynasties of the Six Dynasties, when there was a movement toward awareness of the beauty of the sounds of poetry, as represented by the theory of four tones and eight disorders by Shen Yue and others. Along with the harmonious beauty of the tones within the lines, the form of the medium-length poem, which had traditionally been 20 to 12 lines, gradually became shorter, from 10 to 8 lines, and was fixed, and the rule of using couplets in the middle four lines was also established. Five-character regulated verse was first established in the second half of the 7th century during the time of the Four Great Masters of the Early Tang Dynasty (Wang Bo, Yang Yan, Lu Zhaolin, and King Luobin), and seven-character regulated verse was established a little later, during the time of Shen Xianqi and Song Zhiwen, in the early 8th century. Initially, emphasis was placed on rhetoric and it was mainly used for responses and verses on a given topic, but it was not until the appearance of Du Fu that it began to have a truly artistic and highly advanced content. The form is as follows:

It is characterized by four stanzas, each with two lines, and the middle two stanzas always use a couplet (the other two stanzas may use couplets. If all four stanzas are in couplet form, it is called a full accusative). In contrast to inspiration and wit in the case of quatrains, the highlights of regulated verse are the beauty of balance and refinement of rhetoric centered on couplets. As a variation of regulated verse, when the middle couplet section is longer, such as three or four stanzas, it is called "pairyū" or "long li" stanzas. The long ones can reach more than 100 lines, and this was also perfected by Du Fu. The weightiness it exudes is suitable for exchanges in official settings, and it was customary to use 12-line pairyū for the poetry subject of the imperial examination. Pairyū is mainly five-line, with few seven-line ones.

[Tadahisa Ishikawa]

“Shin Taishi Poetry” by Shoichi Takagi (included in “Chinese Culture Series 4: Introduction to Literature”, 1967, Taishukan Shoten)”

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

中国古典詩の詩体の一つ。唐代に定まったもので、近体詩に属する。8句からなり、1句が5字の「五言(ごごん)律詩」、7字の「七言(しちごん)律詩」の2種がある。律詩の起源は、六朝(りくちょう)の斉(せい)・梁(りょう)のころ、沈約(しんやく)らの「四声八病説(しせいはちびょうせつ)」を代表とする、詩の音声美への自覚の動きからおこった。句中の声調の均斉美とともに、形のうえでも、従来の20句から12句の中編の形式が、しだいに10句から8句と短くなって固定し、中間の4句に対句を用いる規則も定まった。だいたい初唐の四傑（王勃(おうぼつ)、楊烔(ようけい)、盧照鄰(ろしょうりん)、駱賓王(らくひんのう)）の時代、7世紀後半に五言律詩がまず成立し、これにすこし遅れて、沈佺期(しんせんき)、宋之問(そうしもん)の時代、8世紀初頭に七言律詩が成立した。当初は、修辞性に重きが置かれ、応酬や題詠などにおもに用いられたが、真に芸術的に高度の内容をもつようになったのは杜甫(とほ)の出現による。その形式は次のようである。

　二句一聯で四聯からなり、中間の二聯はかならず対句を用いるのが特色である（他の二聯にも対句を用いてよい。四聯とも対句の構成をとるものを全対格という）。絶句の場合のひらめきや機知に対し、律詩の場合には、対句を中心とする均斉美や修辞の洗練さが見どころになる。律詩の変形として、中間の対句の部分が三聯、四聯と長くなったものを「排律」または「長律」とよぶ。長いものは100句以上にも及ぶが、これも杜甫が完成者である。その醸し出す重厚みは、公式の場の応酬などに適し、科挙の詩の科目には、12句の排律が用いられるのが習わしであった。なお、排律は五言が主で、七言のものは少ない。

［石川忠久］

『高木正一著『近体詩』（『中国文化叢書4　文学概論』所収・1967・大修館書店）』

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例