FU

Pinyin Fu, type of Chinese bronze vessel produced largely in the middle Chou period ( c. 900c. 600 BC), as well as a type of bronze ax made during the Shang (18th12th century BC) and Chou (1111255 BC) periods. Rectangular in shape and divided into two parts, the vessel is supported by angular feet at each corner; the lid is almost a duplicate of the bottom (in principle much like the tui ). The rather squat shape and the minimal decoration are typical of the middle Chou period. The cast broad ax may have a tang, or shafthole, for the attachment of a handle, which may be decorated with animal motifs. The shape of the blade varies, but it generally is spatulate with a subtly arced and honed cutting edge. Probably the ax was used most often as a badge or emblem of authority; the ax motif is commonly found among the symbolic patterns on imperial robes of later periods. Chinese literary form combining elements of poetry and prose. The form developed during the Han dynasty (206 BCAD 220) from its origins in the long poem Li sao (On Encountering Sorrow) by Qu Yuan (Ch' Yan; c. 343c. 289 BC). It was particularly suitable for description and exposition, in contrast to the more subjective, lyrical sao. Its prosody was freer than that of the sao, the rhyme pattern being less restrictive. The elements of the fu form include a long line, caesura, and the use of balanced parallel phrases. The use of rhyme removes the fu from the area of pure prose and places it somewhere between poetry and prose. While some Han writers used the form quite skillfully, it was often abused for purposes of trivial and hackneyed description and was generally characterized by an endless piling up of words. Hundreds of years later, during the Song (Sung) dynasty (9601279), the fu was enriched by the skill of Ouyang Xiu (Ou-yang Hsiu; 100772) and Su Dungpo (Su Tung-p'o; 10361101), who made it more prose than poetry and used it to express philosophical concerns.