Jue Ju

Jue Ju (pronounced “Jeh-Jee”) is one of the oldest of the Chinese forms and was very popular in the 3rd century. Also known as the curtailed or frustrated verse, it does not tell a story but attempts to create a mood. The impression is much like that from a symphony orchestra where a solo instrument takes up the theme.

In Chinese poetry, the basic rhythmic unit is zi, a single character that represents a single syllable. When translated into English, this character might be more than a single syllable which results in a loss of metre when it’s translated.

The early Jue Ju were composed in 5 character lines, but by the Tang era (the 8th century) this had changed to a 7 character line. The five-syllable-long form is called wujue and the seven-syllable-long form is the qijue. Limited to either 20 or 28 characters, writing a Jue Ju requires the author to make full use of each character to create a successful poem.

Structure:
5 or 7 character or word lines (lines should be same length)
composed of 4 lines
often erotic in subject matter
composed using Qi, Cheng, Zhuan, Jie:
Line 1 Qi (beginning) sets scene
Line 2 Cheng (development) expands image and mood
Line 3 Zhuan (returning) contrasts with start
Line 4 Jie (finishing) ponders meaning



Clandestine meeting in the night
Furtive touch and soft caress
Forbidden lovers meet at last
Sweet surrender to the bliss.


* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Come to me in dreams
By moonlight and by starlight
Fill the emptiness inside me
Phantom lover, soul mate mine.