Classical Chinese poetry forms are those
poetry forms, or modes which typify the traditional
Chinese poems written in
Literary Chinese or
Classical Chinese. Classical Chinese poetry has various characteristic forms, some attested to as early as the publication of the
Classic of Poetry, dating from a traditionally, and roughly, estimated time of around 10th-7th century BC. The term "forms" refers to various formal and technical aspects applied to poems: this includes such poetic characteristics as meter (such as, line length and number of lines),
rhythm (for example, presence of
caesuras,
end-stopping, and
tone contour), and other considerations such as vocabulary and style. These forms and modes are generally, but not invariably, independent of the
Classical Chinese poetry genres. Many or most of these were developed by the time of the
Tang Dynasty, and the use and development of Classical Chinese poetry and genres actively continued up to until the
May Fourth Movement, and still continues even today in the 21st century.