I have prepared nine  forms in this discussion,  7 forms of China and 2 of Korean , the aim of my writings is to make clear for the rules of each styles for I observed ambiguities when I did read these ancient styles .

This article has two parts: part one deals with seven Chinese poetry styles (Li Bai,Lu You,Du Mu,Fu,Jintishi ,Gushi and Ci Poems) . Gushi and Jintishi are shi forms as they were known. Part two deals with two Korean Styles Sijo and Hyangga styles. I delved deep to find the true rules of each styles so more poems I gathered through my poetry contest from other countries poets in these styles after i knew all.

Part 1- Some Seven forms of China

• Li Bai
• Lu You
• Du Mu
• Fu
• Jintishi
• Gushi
• Ci

Discussion on each style to know the exact rule of each style.

1. Li Bai

A poem by Li Bai

Chuáng qián míngyuèguang,……………….a
yí shì dìshàng shuang…………………..a
Ju tóu wàng míng yuè,………………….b
ditóu si gùxiang………………………..a

Rule of Li Bai Poem

So Li Bai style has 4 lines , aaba rhme scheme and 4/4/5/3 syllables; the 1st line has internal rhyme at the beggining of th line and at the end.

The rhyme diagram is as follows:

a....................a

.......................a

.....................b

......................a
 

1-1 Never returned back [ Li Bai]

Aine came alone
stared and agone
dropped cold tears so sad
but said none

2- Lu You

Lu You style is a 5 lines poem, has rhyme scheme abbab with syllable count  4/5/6/7/7

Lu You (1125-1210): 
To show my son s, Lu You's death bead

The first spring rain in Lin'an
When you die, you know that everything is in vain.
But the sadness is not the same as in Kyushu.
Wang Shibei fixed the Central Plains Day,
Do not forget to tell Nai Weng about family sacrifices


Lín'an chunyu chu jì……………a
siqù yuán zhi wànshì kong,………..b
dàn bei bùjiàn jiuzhou tóng…………b
Wáng shi bei dìng zhongyuán rì,………….a
jia jì wú wàng gào nai weng…………………..b

2-1 The dessert sun [ Lu You]

hard rays stabbing
the sun seems so glad
that rose flower is sad
the sky isn't yet sobbing
no water to the nomad

3- Dum Mu

Du Mu style is a 4 lines poem ,has rhyme scheme aaba with syllable count 8/7/6/9

Du Mu (803-852) "By the Purple Cliff"

The iron is broken and sinks into the sand,
but the iron is not sold.
I will recognize my former dynasty.
The east wind does not agree with Zhou Lang,
Tongquechun is popular in Erqiao


Zhé ji shen sha tie wèi xiao, ……………a
zì jiang mó xi rèn qián cháo………………a
Dongfeng bù yu zhou láng biàn,………….b
tóng què chun shen xiao èr qiáo………..a

3-1 Unforgetten [ Du Mu]

once in my wounded heart i save
in my memory of love
for you have been a scar
betrayal related pains  still waive

4 - Fu Poems

Fu a "rhapsody" or "poetic exposition", is a form of Chinese rhymed prose that was the dominant literary form in China during the Han dynasty (206 BC – AD 220).  Fu include alternating rhyme and prose, varying line lengths, close alliteration, onomatopoeia, loose parallelism ( a poetic technique where writers repeat grammatically similar words or parts of a sentence throughout a poem or text), and extensive cataloging of their topics. It can be so longer as a 100 page fiction or shorter as a page writings. Syllable count no to worry, from which rhyme lines i start the prose that is your choice . As you see in my poem i made rhyme in the first 7 lines and started my prose at the 8th line then again at the 12th line  i did my rhyme again up to line 19 as the Du Fu writing style. By and by i concluded this Fu poem with three line prose.

4-1 The Monster of Ethiopia loving China's hands [ Fu Poems]

The Monster of Ethiopia
saw far from here China's lia
she was so sweet and beautiful like a rose on a lea
the sun of Addis Ababa Smiled there
and scorned at night seen the twilight ere
a girl on Wuyuan, Jiangxi sensed his bother
then sent her warm breath of kiss in austere sincere
Oh Lord, he seemed so debonair on his charismatic chair as he wore the throne hat of the ole Ethiopia. God watched his inner love of that Chinese lady so feared for the exody of his people if they become surrendered by her beauty, so for this melody of her far singing beauty he thought some thing to be done here.
Oh Lord, she is so skillful gifted to do many things
wings of planes like bird, bridges of love phone rings
building of cottages like heavenly homes
cylindrical, rectangular, like a nest having golden domes
her crafting shines under the sky of his cities
her knowledge enters in to his endeavoring majorities
her peace clings with alluring cadence around his borders
so she shall come here to do and teach woo of wonders
Thanks Lord, now he seems so glad not in fad but in deep love's thought he has got all her skillful hands, she has seen and lived in all parts of his country teaching his people, adoring his nation, developing his country, that all all of from her wisdom.

5- Jintishi Poems 

Rules of Quli Jintishi quatrain
- At least three Internal Rhymes on the 1st line  at the middle at the sixth syllable, and at the end ( as you see xiang ,liang and shang on line 1)
- rhyme aaaa
- syllable 13/12/14/13
-Uses more allitiration in each line

Rules derived from the following poem

The Poor Girl by Qin Taoyu (late Tang)

Péng mén wèi shí qiluó xiang  ni tuo liáng méi yì zì shang….a
shuí ài fengliú gao gédiào  gòng lián shí shì jian shuzhuang….a
gan jiang shízhi kua zhen qiao  bù ba shuang méi dòu huà zhang…..a
ku hèn nián nián ya jin xiàn  wèi tarén zuò jià yishang…..a
 

5-1 She is pain [Qilu Jintishi quatrain Poem]

Clandestine not fine, her sin non stopping aching cline
burning me piercing my mind like a sour much wine
done in secret her betrayal deeds as she was not mine
how is i to be free from her high flirting famine

6- Gushi Poems

As you see Gushi poem is an 8 line poem with syllable count from 8 to 12; the rhyme scheme of Gushi poem is abccDdDd. Most of its lines have 9 syllables but some are 8 and some are  10 and some are 11 and 12.
-Refrain words at the beggning of the first line 's strophe . Separate this strophe by comma. See this example how many refrain it has in the 1st line (
Háng háng zhòng háng háng,) before the coma 4 times the word hang repeated.
then use allitiration on each line as much as you can.
The 5th line rhyme does repeat at the 7th line

Gushi Poem has the following characters, so you can use it as a rule of Gushi poem.

Háng háng zhòng háng háng, yu jun sheng biélí............................. ...a
Xiangqù wàn yú li, gè zài tian yi yá.........................b
Dàolù zu qie zhang, huìmiàn an kezhi?(Zhi yizuò: Qi).........................c
hú ma yi bei feng, yuè niaocháo nán zhi................................ .c
Xiangqù rì yi yuan, yi dài rì yi huan...............................d
Fúyún bì bái rì, yóuzi bùgù fan.................................D
Si jun lìng rén lao, suìyuè hu yi wan................................     d
Qì juan wù fù dào, nulì jia can fàn................................ D


6-1-Hang not the truth  (Gushi Poem)

i hear your songs are not love but to your heart's sore

what you expect their rhythm retort shan't be wavered

so your foes have heard since your mouth has whispered

stronger than you to defeat you they have bothered

your wish of victory they have songs whispered

7- Ci Poems 

Poem taken from ancient China poem  for rule identification is the following


Shí nián shengsi liang mángmáng,…………….a
    bù siliang, zì nánwàng…………………………………a
    Qianli gu fén, wú chù huà qiliáng……………..a
    Zòngshi xiangféng yìng bù shí,…………………..b
    chén manmiàn, bìn rú shuang……………………………..a

    Yèlái you mèng hu huán xiang,………………………..a
    xiao xuan chuang, zhèng shuzhuang……………………a
    Xianggù wúyán, wéi you lèi qian xíng……………..a
    Liào dé nián nián duàncháng chù,……………………….c
    míngyuè yè, duan songgang…………………………………..a


Rules of Ci poem
- two stanzas of aaaba,aaaca rhymes
-syllable 5/5/7/5/5 of the first stanza and 8/6/8/7/4 the second stanza or you can make it -syllable from 4 to 8 per line.
- more use of alliteration and consonant similar with the last rhyme making word of each line in each line

My Ci Poem is as follows:

The sob of earth [ Ci Poem]

Part Two

• Some Korean Styles

• Sijo and Hyangga Poems

1. Sijo Poems

The Following is all about My research on Sijo poem before I Wrote my Sijo Poem

i
oneul-i oneul-isoseo maeil-i oneul-isoseo

jeomuljido saejido mal-eusigo

saelyeomyeon neul eonjena oneul-isoseo

poem by By Flora Kim

this Sijo poem has an aaa rhyme with syllable 19/11/12
=================
ii

adeughan bada wie galmaegi dueos nal-a donda.
neohulneohul sileul sseunda. moleuneun nala geuljada.
neolttalan haneul bogpan-e nado gat-i sileul sseunda.

Poem by Yi Unsang (1903-1982)
This poem also has an aaa rhyme with syllable 15/16/16
=============
iii-  

naega ibgim-eul bul-eo yulichang-eul dakk-anaemyeon
sae han mali nal-agamyeo haneul-eul dakk-anaenda
naeil-eun moglyeonkkoch chaj-awa guleum bichdo dakk-euli

poem by Jung Wanyoung (1919-2016)

This poem has no rhyme with syllable 15/15/16
================
iv

dammeoli neom-eodeuneun dalbich-eun eun-eunhago
handu gae soli eobs-i naelyeojineun odongkkoch-eul
galyeoda bal-eul meomchugo dasi dol-abonola


poem by Yi Pyoung-gi (1891-1968)

this poem has no rhyme with syllable 14/15/15
================
And the next Sijo poem of Yang Sanggyong (1903-1988)
Has no rhyme 15/18/14; 20/22/19; 15/17/17 syllable in each stanza

v

chimaneun chojang-iyo jeogolineun jungjang-inga.
bandeushan dongjeong dal-a maljang(maljang)ila ileulini
jeojgaseum tamseuleon masdo osmaebsilo pung-gine.

sasajo(sasajo) gibonhyeong(gibonhyeong)eun nalsuwa gat-eunjila.
isibpal(isibpal)do handal-io samsib-il(samsib-il)do handal-ini
jeol(jeol) majchwo il doego kkoch pimyeon hyang-gi(hyang-gi) jeollo nalila.

nop-eun haneul bakk-eun dal-i ttulyeos-i geollin tteus-eun
yes nim-ui sijohon(sijohon)eul baddeul-eo bichim-ilkka.
dal-alae geomungo soli sijo(sijo)leondeus hayeola


 

Conclusion: and Rule of Sijo Poem

- Sijo poem has no specific rhyme scheme and no specific meter ; however, we can put the range of the syllable count as we observed from the above poems.
- The minimum syllable per line is 11 and the maximum syllable count per line is 22; from this demarcation we can set the rules of sijo poem.
- Sijo poem has rhyme or no rhyme but must be built with three lines; it can be a three line chains Sijo poem.
- Sijo Poem has syllable count per line at range 11. Between 11 and 22 syllables per line

My Sijo Poem

Don’t like my Posts [ Sijo Poem ]

So dear someone don’t like all posts of mine
Once you have been liked my foes and gone with them
I want my freedom in my solitude mind

2- Hyangga Poems

Most scholars said that  Hyangga are characterized by a number of formal rules. The poems may consist of four, eight or ten lines; but i see a 4, 6 line and a 10 lines old Hyangga Poems. So i should put some specific rules to future poets.

Lets delve in to these three poems of hyangga  to legislate its rule, poem 1 and poem 2 were written in  Jemangmaega (Korean: ????; Hanja: ????) ,by  a poet in the  8th-century written by a Buddhist monk named “Wolmyeongsa” in the ancient Korean kingdom of Silla.

Poem 1



Shengsi lù yin……………………………..a

ci yi you a mi cì xi yi qian……………………………b

wú yin qù nèi rú cí chì dou……………………………c

máorúyún qian qù nèi ní chì gu…………………..C

yú nèi qiu chá zao yin feng wèi……………………d

ci yi bi yi fú liáng luò shi yè rú…………………E

yi deng yin zhi liáng chu gu………………………….C

qù nú yin chù máo dong hu ding……………………..f

a ye mítuó sha liáng féng hu wú…………………………g

dàoxiu liáng dài shì gu rú…………………………………E

syllable 3/10/8/8/8/10/7/8/8/7
rhyme : abcCdECfgE

=========================
Poem 2


Shengsi lù yin ci yi you a mi cì xi yi qian…………………………….a

wú yin qù nèi rú cí chì dou máorúyún qian qù nèi ní chì gu………….b

a ye mítuó sha liáng féng hu wú dàoxiu liáng dài shì gu rú……….B

yú nèi qiu chá zao yin feng wèi ci yi bi yi fú liáng luò shi yè rú………………B

yi deng yin zhi liáng chu gu qù nú yin chù máo dong hu ding………………………c

a ye mítuó sha liáng féng hu wú dàoxiu liáng dài shì gu rú……………………….B


13/16/15/18/15/15
Rhyme abBBcB

==================
Poem 3

Dongjing míng qi yuè liáng
yè rù yi yóu háng rúhé
rù liáng sha qin yi jiàn kun
jiao wu yi sì shì liáng luó



This poem is called Cheoyongga Song of Cheoyong is a kind of Hyangga Poem having
5/7/7/8 and no rhyme.

=================================
So the Rule of Hyangga poem is as follows:

- You can make a hyangga poem either in 4 lines , 10 line or 6 lines
_ The names of each Style are: Hyangga 4 lines, Hyangga 10 lines and Hyannga 6 lines.
- A Hyangga-10  lines  has syllable count 3/10/8/8/8/10/7/8/8/7 and rhyme scheme abcCdECfgE
- A Hyannga  6 line has has syllable count 13/16/15/18/15/15 and rhyme scheme abBBcB
- A Hyannga  4 lines  poem has no rhyme but syllablle 5/7/7/8
================================

My Hyangga Poems

 Fly [ Hyangga 4 lines]

romanticizing
sing my darling flying bird
wander for beauty of earth
hover on the pellucid sky


 Hate Effect  (Hyangga 10 )
-----------------------------------          -

That flower
bloomed in the forest by be so lonely
no one watched her living longer
since she became grown so smarter
nature hides the most beauty gift
with no attractiveness halo effect
with coyness, is  not smarter
a spirit of evil shadows
gainsay it not to make revealed
this may be a hate effect

 Go placidly  (Hyangga 06 )
--------------------------------
go placidly, go with heavenly Angels my dear
for this mortal life you have been tested by devil bad sages
failed many times in sins,surrendered you by his sabotages
the mercy of Jesus will emancipate you from Satan Sabotages
i leave my  own dead flesh and go with my own soul forever
so no a pain i won't see again by devil's sabotages

© May 7, Alemseged Sisay Woldemariam