Poetry is a unique style in Chinese with a special format and rhythm. Poetry can be divided into classical poetry and modern poetry according to rhythm. Classical poetry and modern poetry are concepts formed in the Tang Dynasty, which are divided from the perspective of poetic rhythm.

According to the content, it can be divided into narrative poems, lyric poems, farewell poems, frontier poems, pastoral poems, nostalgic poems (epics), mourning poems, object-chanting poems, military poems and so on. Classical poems include The Book of Songs, Songs of the South, Yuefu, Han Fu, Folk Songs of the Southern and Northern Dynasties and so on.

Modern poetry is generally quatrains, metrical poems and parallel poems (long laws). From the literary style, the typical style of the ancient Seven Dynasties is correct, vigorous, solemn and elegant, while the typical style of singing is elegant and gorgeous. The Preface to Essays distinguishes the styles, and holds that "seven-character ancient poems are more valuable than bold sentences and ancient styles", "long-feeling songs" and "running script" are different styles.

Seven ancient poets in Shi Hua also said: "Ancient poetry is embarrassed by style, and its system lies in melody, but its lines are short and long, and it is complicated and unsystematic, so it can make people think deeply." The talents of Li and Du Zhicai are not limited to ancient poems, but in songs. "