Jueju (Quatrain)
中国古代诗歌的重要体式之一。如根据字数，可分为五言绝句和七言绝句，五绝四句二十字，七绝四句二十八字。如根据格律来分，符合格律的称律绝，不符合格律的称古绝。五绝起源于汉代乐府和民间歌谣，七绝起源于魏晋时代的歌谣。南北朝时期乐府民歌的蓬勃生机鼓舞文人大量写作五言拟乐府，促进了绝句的发展，而且南朝文人创作的五绝、七绝开始讲求声律。到了唐代，格律诗逐渐定型，五言、七言的古绝、律绝成为主流诗体，涌现出大批名家名作。绝句篇幅短小，几乎是才开始便结束，因此格外注重谋篇布局，不仅讲求诗意完整、清新自然，还追求有韵外之致、味外之旨，言有尽而意无穷。
The quatrain is one of the important styles of ancient Chinese poetry. According to the number of characters, they can be divided into quatrains with fivecharacter lines and quatrains with seven-character lines. A quatrain with four five-character lines has 20 characters, while a quatrain with four seven-character lines contains 28 characters. In terms of rules and forms, those that conform to the rules and forms are called "rules-based quatrains" while those that do not are termed "ancient quatrains." The five-character quatrain originated from the yuefu poetry and folk songs of the Han Dynasty, while those with seven-character lines originated from the ballads of the Wei and Jin dynasties. During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the vigorous growth of yuefu folk songs encouraged the literati to write large numbers of five-character poetry imitating the yuefu style, which promoted the development of these quatrains. In addition, the quatrains with five- and seven-character lines created in the Northern and Southern Dynasties began to stress tonal and rhythmic patterns.
By the Tang Dynasty, rules-based poetry gradually became well-defined, and ancient quatrains and rules-based quatrains with five- and seven-character lines became the mainstream poetic styles, and a large number of famous poets and masterpieces emerged. As the quatrains are short and almost end the moment they begin, extra attention is required for their layout. Poets not only place emphasis on the completeness of the meaning, on freshness and naturalness, but also on the underlying nuances of words and rhymes.
引例 Citations：
◎五、七言绝句，盖五言短古、七言短歌之变也。五言短古，杂见汉魏诗中，不可胜数，唐人绝体，实所从来。（胡应麟《诗薮·内编六》）
五言绝句、七言绝句，大概是从五言短篇古体诗、七言短篇古体诗变化而来。五言短篇古体诗，杂见于汉魏时代的诗歌当中，多得数不清，唐朝人的绝句，实际是由此发展而来的。
Quatrains with five- and seven-character lines probably came from short ancient poems with five- and seven-character lines. Short ancient poems with five-character lines are found among the poems of the Han and Wei dynasties; and there are countless numbers of them. The quatrains of the Tang Dynasty were actually developed out of these. (Hu Yinglin: An In-depth Exploration of Poetry)
◎绝句之法，要婉曲回环，删芜就简，句绝而意不绝。（杨载《诗法家数》）
绝句的写法，要委婉回环，删除繁芜，追求简洁，句子虽然结束了，但意韵并未断绝。
Quatrains should be written in a subtle and pleasing manner, removing complexity and pursuing simplicity so that when the text reaches its end, the charm continues to resonate. (Yang Zai: The Writing Know-how of Great Poets)
推荐：教育部 国家语委
供稿：北京外国语大学 外语教学与研究出版社
责任编辑：钱耐安
