Han poetry

Han poetry is associated with the Han dynasty era of China, 206 BC – 220 AD, including the Wang Mang interregnum (9–23 AD). Han poetry is considered a significant period in Classical Chinese poetry due to several important developments. One key aspect was the development of the quasipoetic fu, a distinctive literary form. The activities of the Music Bureau, which collected popular ballads, led to the creation of what would later be known as the yuefu, a rhapsodic poetic style.

Towards the end of the Han dynasty, a new style of shi poetry emerged. As the yuefu evolved into fixed-line forms resembling shi poetry, distinguishing between the two styles became increasingly difficult. Consequently, the classification of certain poems as yuefu or shi is often somewhat arbitrary.

Major works from the Han era include the compilation of the Chuci anthology, which contains some of the oldest and most important poetic verses to be preserved from ancient China, as well as the Shijing anthology.