On the Shared Structure of the Early to High Tang Gexing and the Seven-Character Short Poem with a Discussion of “Kayō Jūei” as a Japanese Seven-Character Short Poem Sequence

Abstract

Abstract The seven-character short poem [duan ge 短歌] is a distinct poetic form that originated in Han dynasty ballads and peaked during the Liang dynasty. It is closely related to the gexing 歌行 [song or song poem], a poetic form that also flourished during the Qi and Liang dynasties. The two forms differ in substance, with the former tending towards brevity and, the latter, length; however, they share fundamental principles of compositional method. At the start of the Tang dynasty, the seven-character short poem had not yet been eclipsed by the seven-character quatrain [jueju 絕句]; rather, it maintained its place among Early and High Tang poetic forms and continued to develop on its own terms. The “Ten Songs on Kayō [Kayō jūei 河陽十詠]” is a seven-character short poem sequence from the Heian period in Japan. Its formal elements are similar to those of the Chinese seven-character short poem, and it shares structural qualities with Qi-Liang style gexing composed by Heian poets. At the same, it also shares characteristics of the Heian topic poem. Its unique existence prompts us to look back to old poetic forms as precious source materials from which we may excavate long-overlooked stylistic phenomenon in poetry.