An Introduction to the Prosody of Classical Chinese Poetry

By Dr. Peiyun Jiang

This is a bilingual volume in English and Chinese.

An Introduction to the Prosody of Classical Chinese Poetry distills the essential rules, structures, and aesthetic principles of regulated verse (l shi) for the modern reader. It explains not only how classical poems are constructed, but why their music and imagery still move us with such clarity.

Classical Chinese poetry is one of the world's most intricate literary systems, built upon tonal patterns, rhyme schemes, parallelism, and the four-part movement of qǐ ch ng zhuǎn h ("opening, development, turn, conclusion"). These patterns are often reduced to technical charts; yet in truth they form a living musical architecture.
The purpose of this book is to restore that vitality-clarifying the rules while revealing the emotional and philosophical depth behind them.

The author, Peiyun Jiang, has composed thousands of regulated poems over several decades, mastering every rule-平仄 (tones), 对仗 (parallelism), 押韵 (rhyme), and 章法 (structure)-until they have become second nature. This book distills that lifelong practice into a clear, generous guide, written for poets, students, teachers, and readers of Chinese literature.

This bilingual edition presents Chinese originals alongside elegant English explanations. Through diagrams, accessible instruction, and close readings of masterworks by Du Fu, Wang Wei, and Li Bai, the book shows how sound becomes meaning, how imagery forms an inner landscape, and how eight or four lines can hold an entire world.

Its purpose is simple:
to give contemporary readers a complete, modern, and beautifully crafted gateway into the art of regulated verse, demonstrating that classical prosody-far from being restrictive-remains a powerful tool for linguistic precision, emotional subtlety, and literary music.

本书为中英双语版。

《汉诗格律初阶》系统讲解近体诗（律诗）的核心原理，包括平仄、对仗、押韵、章法与起承转合。其旨不止在于解释格律"如何运作"，更揭示其背后的审美精神与情感结构。

中国古典诗歌以声律为骨，以意境为魂，是世界文学中最精密而富有音乐性的诗歌传统之一。格律常被误解为僵化规则，然而真正的格律是诗歌的"内在建筑"。本书的目的，就是以现代、清晰而优雅的方式，让这座建筑重新发光。

作者蒋培云数十年来创作数千首格律诗，对平仄、粘对、对仗、押韵与章法等规律早已烂熟于心。其写作经验浓缩为本书，使初学者与进阶者皆能从中得法得意。

本书采用中英对照写作，配以图示与范例，并细读杜甫、王维、李白等名篇，展示声音如何生意象，意象如何化情境，短短八句四句如何容纳千山万水。

本书的核心宗旨，是为当代读者提供一条进入汉语格律之美的现代通道--让格律成为语言的音乐，成为表达情感与心灵节奏的精妙方式。

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0G2J6F5GN
• ISBN13: 9798274655026
• Release Date: November 2025
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 262 Pages
• Weight: 0.78 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.0"