Chinese Poetry - Yuan Poetry

Yuan Poetry

Major developments of poetry during the Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368) included the development of types of poetry written to fixed-tone patterns, such as for the Yuan opera librettos. After the Song Dynasty, the set rhythms of the ci came to be reflected in the set-rhythm pieces of Chinese Sanqu poetry (散曲), a freer form based on new popular songs and dramatic arias, that developed and lasted into the Ming Dynasty (14th-17th centuries). Examples can be seen in the work of playwrights Ma Zhiyuan 馬致遠 (c. 1270-1330) and Guan Hanqing 關漢卿 (c. 1300).