an epic is a long narrative poem or story

One characteristic is its length. Since it's a long narrative, it can span many pages or even volumes. Another is the presence of heroic characters. These are often larger - than - life figures who perform great deeds. For example, Achilles in 'The Iliad'.

One well - known epic is 'Beowulf'. It is an Old English epic poem that tells the story of Beowulf, a hero who battles monsters like Grendel and his mother, and later a dragon. The poem is full of descriptions of heroism, loyalty, and the struggle between good and evil.

"Ode of Mulan" was a long narrative folk song from the Northern and Southern Dynasties in China. It was also a Yuefu poem. It told the story of a girl named Mulan, who disguised herself as a man and joined the army for her father. She made meritorious deeds on the battlefield, and when she returned to the court, she was unwilling to be an official. She only wanted to go home and reunite. This poem created the immortal image of Mulan, which was both legendary and touching. Mulan was both an extraordinary woman and an ordinary person, both a heroine and a civilian girl, both a vigorous warrior and a delicate daughter. She was hardworking, kind, determined, brave, honest, simple, agile, and lively. She loved her relatives and served the country. She did not envy high officials and rich salaries but loved a peaceful life. This poem had a strong folk song characteristic. It described the mood of the characters and portrayed the psychology of the characters with the methods of question and answer, arrangement, antithesis, and intertextuality. It was vivid and meticulous and had a strong artistic appeal. The story of Mulan joining the army on behalf of her father was well-known in China, and Mulan's image had always been loved by people.

A long narrative poem is a literary form that usually contains a large number of plots and characters, as well as complex plot lines and emotional clues. Long narrative poems are usually presented in the form of traditional poetry, but they can also be presented in other forms such as rap, folktales, plays, etc. In a long narrative poem, the author would usually use a lot of symbols and metaphor to describe the character's personality, psychology, and plot development. Long narrative poems also often contain a lot of dialogue to show the communication and conflict between the characters. The main purpose of a long narrative poem was to convey the author's values and worldview by describing a complex story and character relationships. Therefore, long narrative poems usually involved topics such as war, love, religion, and social change. The long narrative poem is a literary form with a profound cultural background. It has its unique charm and value not only in China but also in all parts of the world.

The earliest long narrative poem in China was the Song of Everlasting Sorrow. It was a narrative poem written by Bai Juyi of the Tang Dynasty, describing the love story between Emperor Ming of the Tang Dynasty and Yang Guifei. It was hailed as a classic work of ancient Chinese love culture. The Song of Everlasting Sorrow had a total of 100 chapters and 3500 words. It was one of the great works in the history of Chinese literature. The poem was based on the love story between Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty and Concubine Yang. It interweaved with the debauchery and extravagance of Emperor Ming of the Tang Dynasty, as well as various political struggles and conspiracies in the court, showing the darkness and corruption of the court of the Tang Dynasty. Song of Everlasting Sorrow not only had high artistic value in literature, but also had important historical and social value. It was regarded as a classic work of ancient Chinese literature.

The first long narrative poem in China was the Legend of the White Snake.

The longest long narrative poem in China was 'Dream of the Red Chamber'. It was written in the Qing Dynasty, with 128 chapters and about 4 million words. The novel used the love story of Jia Baoyu, Lin Daiyu and others as the main line, interweaving the rise and fall of the family, political struggles, religious culture and other elements to show the customs and cultural features of traditional Chinese society. This novel was hailed as the pinnacle of Chinese classical novels and one of the treasures of Chinese culture.

There were relatively few epics and long poems in China mainly because the political, social, and cultural environment of ancient China was different from that of western countries. In ancient China, the political system was relatively closed, the society was relatively stable, and the people's lives were relatively comfortable. Moreover, the ancient Chinese cultural tradition emphasized family, clan, and social status. People's values were also mainly utilitarian-based. Epic, long poems, and other literary works were often seen as a symbol of inheriting family and social status, so it was more difficult to create. Ancient Chinese literature was mostly poetry and prose, while epics, long poems and other literary works required beautiful language, complex plots, vivid characters, and sincere emotions. This required the author to have high literary attainments and creative skills. In addition, the cultural tradition of ancient China also influenced the creation of literature to a certain extent. The main schools of ancient Chinese literature, such as Tang poetry, Song poetry, Yuan opera, etc., mostly focused on personal expression and expression rather than emphasizing social significance and historical value. To sum up, the cultural tradition, politics, social and cultural environment, and literary forms of ancient China all influenced the relatively small number of epics and long poems.

Romain Rolan's War and Peace was called a "long narrative poem" by Gorky because of its complicated plot, numerous characters, and colorful narrative methods. This novel contains a large number of historical events, political struggles, character images, and emotional descriptions. The readers can experience rich life experiences and emotional experiences in it. In addition, War and Peace was also hailed as a classic in the history of world literature, which had a profound impact on the literary creation of later generations.

In the 1940s, the excellent long narrative poem in the Chinese Jiefang District was the glittering red star.