One-syllable article

Type of constrained writing found in Chinese literature

A one-syllable article (Chinese: 同音文章; pinyin: Tóngyīn wénzhāng) is a type of constrained writing found in Chinese literature. It takes advantage of the large number of homophones in the Chinese language, particularly when writing in Classical Chinese due to historic sound changes. While the characters used in a one-syllable article have many different meanings, they are all pronounced as the same syllable, although not with the same tone. Therefore, a one-syllable article is comprehensible in writing but becomes an incomprehensible tongue twister when read aloud, especially in Mandarin Chinese pronunciation. In other regional dialect pronunciations, all syllables may not sound alike.

Notable examples

Lion-Eating Poet in the Stone Den (simplified Chinese: 施氏食狮史; traditional Chinese: 施氏食獅史; pinyin: Shī Shì shí shī shǐ), by Yuen Ren Chao
The nephew who treats hemorrhoids [zh] (Chinese: 侄治痔; pinyin: zhí zhì zhì), by He Yuanwai
The legendary archer's descendant: Yi [wikisource:zh] (Chinese: 羿裔熠; pinyin: yì yì yì)
Suspecting the physician of losing gold [wikisource:zh] (simplified Chinese: 遗镒疑医; traditional Chinese: 遺鎰疑醫; pinyin: yí yì yí yī)
Auntie Yi's pancreatic cure [wikisource:zh] (simplified Chinese: 易姨医胰; traditional Chinese: 易姨醫胰; pinyin: yì yí yī yí)
Yu Yu who intends fishing [wikisource:zh] (simplified Chinese: 于瑜欲渔; traditional Chinese: 于瑜欲漁; pinyin: yú yú yù yú)
Xi who plays with rhinoceros [wikisource:zh] (simplified Chinese: 熙戏犀; traditional Chinese: 熙戲犀; pinyin: xī xì xī)
Narration on starving chickens' assembly at a rift [wikisource:zh] (simplified Chinese: 饥鸡集矶记; traditional Chinese: 飢雞集磯記; pinyin: jī jī jí jī jì)