Fu originated from Chu Ci and inherited the tradition of satire in The Book of Songs.
Fu is a kind of metrical style in ancient China, which is between poetry and prose, similar to prose poetry in later generations. It emphasizes literary talent and rhythm and has the nature of poetry and prose. It is characterized by "eulogizing prose and writing ambition in kind", focusing on writing scenery and expressing emotion through scenery. It first appeared in hundred schools of thought's essays and was called "short fu"; Qu Yuan's "Sao Style" is a transition from poetry to fu, which is called "Sao Fu". The style of Fu was formally established in the Han Dynasty, which is called "Ci Fu". After Wei and Jin Dynasties, it developed in the direction of parallel prose, which was called "parallel prose". In the Tang dynasty, it changed from parallel style to regular style, which was called "law fu"; In Song Dynasty, Fu appeared in the form of prose, which was called "Wen Fu". Famous Fu include: Fu of Epang Palace by Du Mu, Fu of Luoshen by Cao Zhi, Fu of Autumn Sound by Ouyang Xiu, Fu of Thousand Cliffs by Su Shi, Fu of Sorrow for the South of the Yangtze River by Yu Xin, etc.
Fu's characteristics:
First, the sentences are mainly four or six sentences, and the sentence patterns are patchy, pursuing parallel pairs; Second, it requires harmony in phonology; Third, pay attention to algae decoration and allusions in language. Four: the content focuses on writing scenery and expressing emotions through scenery. Antithesis and algae decoration are a major feature of Han Fu. After a long process of evolution, it developed to the middle Tang Dynasty. Under the influence of the ancient prose movement, there appeared a trend of prose, which did not talk about parallel prose and rhythm, and the sentence patterns were uneven and the rhyme was relatively free, forming a fresh and smooth prose momentum, called "Wen Fu".
Parallel prose was greatly influenced by Fu, and matured in the Southern and Northern Dynasties compared with the Eastern Han Dynasty. Literati in Han Dynasty used a lot of parallel prose in their articles. So that some famous articles are regarded as parallel prose. For example, Wu Chengfu by Bao Zhao in the Southern Dynasties, Fu Xue by Xie Huilian and Yuefu by Xie Zhuang.
In addition to the initial stage of Chu Ci, Fu has experienced several stages, such as Sao Style Fu, Han Fu, Parallel Prose Fu, Rhythm Fu and Wen Fu, among which Han Fu has the greatest influence.