Editing Northern and Southern dynasties (section)

===Literature===
{{Further|Six Dynasties poetry}}

Literature was particularly vibrant during the Southern Dynasty and tended to be flowery and frilly, while Northern Dynasty literature was rougher and more straightforward.  Notable writers include [[Yu Xin]], Xing Fang, [[Wei Shou]], and [[Wen Zisheng]] of the Northern Dynasty.  In poetry, [[Fu (poetry)|''fu'' poetry]] continued to be a dominant genre, though the five-syllable form that achieved great prominence during the [[Tang dynasty]] gradually increased in popularity. In the Southern Dynasty, a type of essay known as ''[[pianwen]]'', which used [[metered rhyme]], flowery language, and classical allusions, became popular.  Writings often spoke of removing oneself from everyday material existence and jettisoning cares and anxiety.

Poets of the Northern and Southern dynasties focused on imitating older classical poets of [[History of China#Ancient China|Ancient China]], formalizing the rhyme patterns and meters that governed poem composition.  However, scholars realized that ancient songs and poems, like those of the [[Shijing]], in many instances no longer rhymed due to [[sound shift]]s over the previous centuries.
The introduction of Buddhism to China, which began in the late [[Han dynasty]] and continued through the Tang dynasty, introduced Chinese scholars to [[Sanskrit]]. The [[Brahmi script]], with its sophisticated [[phonology|phonological]] organization, arrived in China in the 5th century, and was studied by [[Xie Lingyun]], who produced a (since-lost) glossary of Chinese transcriptions of Sanskrit terms "arranged according to the 14 sounds".<ref>{{cite journal
  | title = Chinese traditional phonology
  | given = Edwin G. | surname = Pulleyblank | author-link = Edwin G. Pulleyblank
  | journal = Asia Major | volume = 12 | issue = 2 | year = 1999 | pages = 101–137
  | jstor = 41645549
  }} pp. 107–108.</ref>
The [[four tones (Middle Chinese)|four tones]] of early [[Middle Chinese]] were first described by [[Shen Yue]] and Zhou Yong.<ref>{{cite book
  | title = A Handbook of Old Chinese Phonology
  | given = William H. | surname = Baxter | author-link = William H. Baxter
  | location = Berlin | publisher = Mouton de Gruyter | year = 1992
  | isbn = 978-3-11-012324-1
  | page = 303
  }}</ref>