Kishōtenketsu (起承転結) describes the structure of many classic Chinese, Korean and Japanese narratives. Kishōtenketsu is sometimes described as a narrative structure devoid of conflict, particularly when compared to common Western narrative structures.

History

In China, this technique is called qǐchéngzhuǎnhé (起承轉合). It was used in Chinese poetry in styles of four-line composition, such as Qijue. Qichengzhuanhe has been speculated to have originated with Li Bai during the Tang Dynasty, but this would predate the time period from the first mention of this form. This view is backed by Wu Yingtian who cites a four-structure poetry type which included chin (hanbi), neck (Jingbi), belly (fubi) and behind (houbi) attributing it to Yang Zai. It was, however, described by Fan Heng (1272–1330) as methods of writing poetry, divided into four styles: qi, cheng, zhuan, and he. Qi was described as straight, cheng was likened to a mortar, zhuan was described change, and he is likened to a deep pond or overflowing river which helps one reflect on the meaning. The rhetorical style started out as poetry. This later influenced pianwen and guwento and eventually created the baguwen aka the eight-legged essay. In Korea, the form was called giseungjeongyeol (Hangul: 기승전결; Hanja: 起承轉結). In Japan, it was called kishōtengō (起承転合), from which the English word derives. Back in China, after the baguwen lost favor with the fall of the Qing Dynasty, and due to its difficulty, a revival of the qichengzhuanhe form came back in popular education, relabeled as "kaiduan-fazhan-gaochao-jieju" (beginning, development, climax, conclusion). Contrary to thought, the structure is not the same as the popular US and European-derived three-act structure. For example, transitions can be anything from a sentence to a full paragraph which contrasts with the five-paragraph essay where one sentence is encouraged for all transitions, rather than a full paragraph. A writer could also can set up a callback to the beginning of the essay. The conclusion is said to need to be quick and one should not linger long on that part of the essay. This form also was often used in both classical literature and contemporary plays such as Waves Washing the Sand.

Regional variations

Variations of this dramatic structure are based on region due to differences in how the Chinese characters are interpreted per the country and culture.

Chinese

Korean

Japanese

In a story, the following might happen: The same pattern is used for arguments. For example, a discussion about the usage of photocopying machines could be analyzed as follows: This structure can be used in yonkoma manga, and even for documents, dissertations, and music. Kishōtenketsu can apply to sentences, and even clauses, to chapter as well. The concept has also been used in game design, particularly in Nintendo's video games, most notably Super Mario games such as Super Mario Galaxy (2007) and Super Mario 3D World (2013); their designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Koichi Hayashida are known to utilize this concept for their game designs.

Scientific study

In a study of this story structure in Taiwanese students versus a five-paragraph essay, researchers found that the students familiar with this structure were better able to pick out the main points of the essay, and the inverse was also true. US students could better pick out the main points of the essay when it was restructured to a five-paragraph essay, but not in qichengzhuanhe form. They hypothesized that the structure of the essay also organizes cognitive thought.