The earliest extant seven-character poem is

The earliest extant seven-character poem is Peacock Flying Southeast. This poem was written by Xie Lingyun, a writer in the Southern Liang Dynasty. The following is a brief introduction of this poem:

Peacock Flying Southeast is one of Xie Lingyun's representative works, and is regarded as the earliest existing seven-character poem. This poem * * * has four sentences, each with seven words, which conforms to the meter of seven-character poem. This poem expresses the author's praise and admiration for the peacock's beautiful figure by describing its flying scene.

At the beginning of the poem, it says, "Peacocks fly southeast and swim in five colors." The peacock's flying posture is depicted here, and colorful feathers are flying in the air. Then, the poet wrote: "graceful figure, clear voice." Here, adjectives "beautiful" and "pure" are used to express admiration for the beauty and vitality of peacocks. The last two sentences read: "I am proud of my heart, and I am happy to praise my life." The poet expressed his joy when he saw the peacock and praised its life.

This poem is concise and lively, with vivid description. By describing the beautiful form of peacock, it expresses the author's pursuit of beauty and praise for life. It has a certain position and influence in the history of ancient literature.

Peacock Flying Southeast is an important legacy of China ancient literature, which marks the beginning and inheritance of the seven-character poem. Seven-character poetry has been widely used and developed in the later literary development, and has become one of the important forms of ancient poetry in China. The appearance of this poem not only enriches the artistic form of ancient poetry, but also provides a creative model and inspiration for later literati.