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 part of China during the Northern and Southern Dynasties. 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.