Qu (曲) is a kind of lyric Chinese poetry. Together with shi and ci, it is part of classical Chinese poetry. Qu started to become popular in late Southern Song dynasty, as the ci gradually became more literary and artificial. Qu reached its highest popularity in Yuan dynasty, therefore it is also often called yuan qu. Shi (è©©) is the Chinese word for poem; it can also be used to mean Chinese poetry other than lyrics, or (most commonly) the classical form of poetry developed in the late Han dynasty and which reached its zenith in the Tang dynasty. ... Ci poetry (è©ž, interchangeable with è¾­ pinyin cí) is a kind of lyric Chinese poetry. ... Chinese poetry can be divided into three main periods: the early period, characterised by folk songs in simple, repetitive forms; the classical period from the Han dynasty to the fall of the Qing dynasty, in which a number of different forms were developed; and the modern period of Westernised free... Alternative meaning: Song Dynasty (420-479) The Song dynasty (Chinese: 宋朝) was a ruling dynasty in China from 960-1279. ... It has been suggested that Chinese yuan be merged into this article or section. ...