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Fu (Chinese Rhapsody)

Extended Prose Forms

A Chinese literary form combining rhymed and unrhymed passages of ornate, densely descriptive rhythmic prose-poetry, used above all in the Han dynasty for extended, catalog-like descriptions of palaces, hunts, cities and other grand subjects, standing between poetry and prose rather than fully inside either.

Facts
Place of Origin
China, flourishing above all in the Han dynasty (206 BCE-220 CE). 1
Structure
Alternating passages of rhymed, rhythmic verse and unrhymed prose, built around extended, catalog-like description and elaborate parallel phrasing. 1
Notable Example
Sima Xiangru's Han-dynasty fu on the Shanglin Park, among the most celebrated works of the form. 1
Connections

Associated With

Chu Ci, Works

Form Of Genre

Source Encyclopaedia Britannica
Sources
1. Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.View the Source

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