China's first collection of poems, The Book of Songs, was published 2,500 years ago. The Book of Songs is divided into three categories: wind, elegance and ode. The wind is mostly folk songs, and the elegant part is a feast song. It's all fun first, then lyrics. Later, the score was lost and the music gradually evolved. Those lyrics exist independently, are widely known, have been handed down and become excellent poems. For example, there is a poem in the Book of Songs called Caige, which reads:
He took GM Xi. I haven't seen you for a day, like March!
He chose little Xi. I haven't seen you all day, Sanqiu!
He likes Ai Xi. Not seeing you for a day is like being three years older!
This is a nostalgic poem. The poet imagined that the people he missed were Ge, Xiao and Ai, although they didn't meet for one day, just like March three years later. The whole poem is sung repeatedly to express the thoughts after parting.
The "Yuefu" produced in the Han Dynasty is also a kind of poetry that is suitable for music and can sing and dance well. At first, it was not a poem, but a musical organ founded by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. Music is music and the government is the government. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty established such an official government that was responsible for music, making music scores and collecting lyrics. During the Wei, Jin and Six Dynasties, the poems sung by Yuefu were referred to as Yuefu for short. Since then, Yuefu has changed from the name of organ to the name of poem, which has been sung ever since.
In the Tang Dynasty, modern poetry was formed, which is the general name of metrical poems and quatrains we have learned. This kind of poem has a sense of rhythm. Law means that there are strict rules on the use of language. Rhyme is rhyme, which means that the main vowel at the end of a poem has syllables with the same or similar pronunciation So it forms a kind of musical beauty.
Another style, Ci, was formed in the Tang Dynasty. It sings in unison. Later, it prevailed in the Song Dynasty and developed into Sanqu in the Yuan Dynasty. It is a new style poem, and every song with music has certain metrical requirements and a title.
With the change of the times, new poems appeared. Free verse is not easy to compose, so the relationship between poetry and music is gradually alienated. But some excellent works still pay attention to the beauty of music. Because although there is no strict format, new poetry has rhythm, rich feelings and associations, concise language and sounds like singing.
From this point of view, whether it is ancient poetry, modern poetry or new poetry, it is closely related to songs. Poetry and song are inseparable in this way.