Shi[1] and shih[2] are romanizations of the character 詩/诗, the Chinese word for all poetry generally and across all languages.

This anthology included both aristocratic poems (the "Hymns" and "Eulogies") and more rustic works believed to have derived from Huaxia folk songs (the "Odes").

In such analysis, "shi" poetry is contrasted with other forms such as the Chu-derived "cí" and the Han-era "fu".

It may be used broadly to refer to the ancient poetry of China, chiefly the mostly anonymous works collected in the Confucian Classic of Poetry, the separate tradition exemplified by Qu Yuan and Song Yu's Songs of Chu, and the works collected by the Han "Music Bureau".

Jintishi, which means "Modern Poetry", was actually composed from the 5th century onwards and is considered to have been fully developed by the early Tang dynasty.