Hyperhomophonous hanzi

Many people who don't have the slightest clue about how Chinese characters work have been snookered by the (in)famous Chinese "poem" that has 92 or 94 characters all pronounced "shi" (though in different tones).  It's supposed to be a test of one's accuracy in mastering tones and is said to be intelligible when spoken aloud with the correct tones.  Some people think it proves how profound Chinese characters are.  In actuality, it proves absolutely nothing of value.  Nobody talks like this.

Here it is, with explication and annotation:   "Lion-Eating Poet in the Stone Den".

Unless you have endless amounts of time to waste, I would advise you to do no more than glance at it.

Since many hanziphiles are already familiar with the story about the lion-eating poet in the stone den, let's take a look at another "poem" of this sort to see just how easy it is to produce such drivel.

https://x.com/UlyssesFinn/status/2006305797039669427

And here's yet another, all in syllables pronounced "ji" in one of the four tones.

BTW, "poems" like this would work better if pronounced in Cantonese, Southern Min, or some other topolect with a richer phonetic inventory than Mandarin, or Japanese or Korean, or Middle Sinitic or Old Sinitic, which likewise have greater phonetic differentiation among syllables.

 

Selected readings

• "Homophonophobia" (2/7/15)
• "Homophonic puns in Standard Chinese" (WP)

[Thanks to Hiroshi Kumamoto]