Shiwen refers to the literary style popular in a period or era. A specific definition of Shiwen refers to the articles called examination-oriented articles in the imperial examination era.
Articles that are popular in a period and that people like to read are the broad concept of beautiful writing [Huang Gaocai's "Characteristics of Beautiful Writing"]. A specific definition of Shiwen refers to the essays called exam-oriented articles in the imperial examination era, especially the eight-legged essay. Shiwen refers to a literary style that is popular in a period or era. In the Tang Dynasty, it mainly refers to the parallel prose commonly used at that time and the rhymes used in imperial examinations. Parallel prose originated in the Han and Wei dynasties and was formed in the Southern and Northern Dynasties. The whole text is mainly composed of double sentences (i.e. even sentences and haiku), which pays attention to antithesis and rhythm. It is also called parallel couplet and parallel couplet. It was still quite popular in the Tang Dynasty. This style was mostly used in Zhangzou table, as opposed to ancient prose. Speaking, it is also called Jinti. Those sentences composed of four or six characters alternately are also called Siliuwen. In the mid-Tang Dynasty, Han Yu, Liu Zongyuan and others promoted ancient prose, but parallel prose still had considerable influence. Han Yu once lamented in his "Books with Feng Su": "I always write words according to the customs. The writing makes people feel ashamed, and when it is shown to others, people think it is good. I don't know how ancient writing can be used in today's world!" Lu Fu is A kind of parallel and rhythmic fu style, with neat parallelism and strict regulations on the rhythm. In the imperial examinations of the Tang Dynasty, in addition to the questions, additional numbers were often used as rhymes, usually eight characters. When writing a poem, one must change the rhymes of these prescribed characters in sequence. Due to the strict restrictions, good works are rare. By the early Northern Song Dynasty, the parallel prose style of Yang Yi, Liu Jun and others was very popular, also known as Shiwen. Ouyang Xiu described the situation in the literary world when he was young in "Jiuben Hanwenhou": "At that time, scholars all over the world, Yang and Liu, were writing, and they were called Shiwen. Those who were able to get the title of the subject and be good at fame." During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the so-called Shiwen Wen refers to eight-part essay, also known as Zhiyi.
In the dialect of Siyi, Guangdong, Shi Wen means right and wrong. For example, "Shi Wen" means always talking about other people's rights and wrongs.