ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Classical Chinese poetry

Classical Chinese poetry is a type of writing that uses words in a special way to create beautiful pictures in your mind. It's like a painting with words!

Imagine you have a bag of different colored marbles. You can use these marbles to create different patterns and pictures. In the same way, classical Chinese poets use different words to create beautiful pictures in our minds.

They often write about nature, using words that describe things like flowers and birds. Sometimes they write about people, using words that describe emotions and feelings.

The words they use are also special. They often use words that have a deeper meaning than just their literal definition. For example, if they write about a flower, it might represent something bigger, like the beauty of the world.

Classical Chinese poetry also has its own special form. Poems are usually short and often have a fixed number of characters in each line. The lines usually rhyme, which means that the words at the end of the line sound the same or similar.

Overall, classical Chinese poetry is a beautiful type of writing that creates pictures in your mind with words that have special meanings.