Tone pattern

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Tone patterns (Chinese: 平仄; pinyin: píngzè; Jyutping: ping4 zak1; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: piâⁿ-cheh) are common constraints in classical Chinese poetry.

The four tones of Middle Chinese—level (平), rising (上), departing (去), and entering (入) tones—are categorized into level (平) tones and oblique (仄) tones. Tones that are not level are oblique. When tone patterns are used in poetry, the pattern in which level and oblique tones occur in one line is often the inverse of that of the line next to it. For example, in the poem 春望 (pinyin: chūn wàng, Spring View) by Du Fu, the tone pattern of the first line is 仄仄平平仄, while that of the second line is 平平仄仄平:

國(仄) 破(仄) 山(平) 河(平) 在(仄)
城(平) 春(平) 草(仄) 木(仄) 深(平)