run2_seven-char-regulated-verse

Seven-Character Regulated Verse (七言律诗) — Complete Guide

Structure

• Title: One line (typically 2-4 characters)
• Body: Exactly 8 lines, each with exactly 7 Chinese characters (excluding punctuation)
• Punctuation: Comma (，) after lines 1, 3, 5, 7; period (。) after lines 2, 4, 6, 8

Four Couplets

Couplet	Lines	Function	Parallelism Required?
首联	1-2	Introduce scene/theme	No
颔联	3-4	Develop/elaborate	Yes
颈联	5-6	Turn/contrast	Yes
尾联	7-8	Conclude/express emotion	No

Rhyme Scheme (韵律)

• Lines 2, 4, 6, 8 must rhyme
• Line 1 may optionally rhyme (首句入韵)
• All rhyming characters must be 平声 (1st or 2nd tone in modern Mandarin)
• All rhyming characters must share the same 韵母 (e.g., all end in -ang)

Tonal Patterns (平仄格式)

首句入韵·仄起式 (used when line 1 rhymes, starting with 仄 at position 2):

Line 1: X仄X平X仄平  (rhyme)
Line 2: X平X仄X平平  (rhyme)
Line 3: X平X仄X平仄
Line 4: X仄X平X仄平  (rhyme)
Line 5: X仄X平X仄仄
Line 6: X平X仄X平平  (rhyme)
Line 7: X平X仄X平仄
Line 8: X仄X平X仄平  (rhyme)

Key Rules

• "二四六分明": Positions 2, 4, 6 must strictly follow the pattern
• "一三五不论": Positions 1, 3, 5 are flexible (with some exceptions to avoid 三平尾 or 三仄尾)
• 对 (opposition): Within a couplet, positions 2, 4, 6 of the two lines should have opposite tones
• 粘 (adhesion): Line 3 pos-2 tone = Line 2 pos-2 tone; Line 5 pos-2 = Line 4 pos-2; Line 7 pos-2 = Line 6 pos-2

Parallelism (对仗) Rules

For 颔联 and 颈联:

• Word-by-word correspondence in part of speech (noun↔noun, verb↔verb, adj↔adj)
• Semantic category matching (color↔color, number↔number, body part↔body part)
• Tonal opposition between corresponding positions
• Example: 白发老翁思故土 / 青丝少妇盼归郎
  • 白发↔青丝 (color+body), 老翁↔少妇 (age+gender), 思↔盼 (verb), 故土↔归郎 (noun)

Verification Checklist

1. [ ] Title on first line
2. [ ] Exactly 8 lines of poem
3. [ ] Each line has exactly 7 characters
4. [ ] Rhyming characters all share the same 韵母 in modern Mandarin
5. [ ] All rhyming characters are 平声 (1st or 2nd tone)
6. [ ] Positions 2, 4, 6 follow the tonal pattern
7. [ ] 颔联 (lines 3-4) has proper parallelism
8. [ ] 颈联 (lines 5-6) has proper parallelism
9. [ ] 粘 rule is satisfied (adhesion between couplets)
10. [ ] No 三平尾 (three consecutive 平 at end of a line) or 三仄尾