This term originally referred to the general layout of a building. Later, it came to mean the overall framework and plot development of a piece of work of art and literature. In theories about calligraphy, it refers to both the structure of an individual character and the rules and layout of an entire calligraphic work. Strokes of varying lengths and widths, as well as their upward or downward tilts, determine the shape of a character. Therefore, structure is essential to creating a piece of calligraphic art. In theories about poetry and prose writing, it refers to elements of poetic composition such as introduction, the unfolding of a process, transition to another viewpoint and summing up; it is also used to evaluate the structural merits or demerits of an essay. In theories about fiction and drama, this term is used even more widely. The Late Ming to early Qing drama theorist Li Yu (1611-1680) observed in his Occasional Notes with Leisure Motions that structure was like forming a concrete creature – one needs to set up a frame and give it flesh and blood until its facial features and body finally take shape. It was also like building a house – a builder should first of all create a general layout in mind; he was not supposed to change the design in the course of house construction. Li Yu’s theory about structure included items such as a focus on the main characters and events, abandonment of stereotypes in creating a drama, coherence between parts of a drama and elimination of nonessentials. It emphasized the idea that drama was an art of overall designing. Structure is the most suitable term to explain how parts should be combined into an integral whole.

In calligraphy, the form or structure of a Chinese word should have a real-life equivalent – it won’t do to write just as one pleases. For example, a character can be shaped like a bird or an insect nibbling at a trunk, or like a mountain, a tree, a cloud or a fog. A stroke, whether vertical or horizontal, should be supported by other strokes, and the use of strokes must comply with rules. Such a piece of work deserves to be called calligraphy.

(Cai Xizong: On Exemplary Calligraphy)

The term structure should rank above sound meters in importance. It marks the beginning of good rhyming and a careful choice of words.

(Li Yu: Occasional Notes with Leisure Motions)

The poem "Cricket" is complete with an introduction, the unfolding of a process, a transition to another viewpoint and a summing up. One can learn from it about how to arrange the structure of a poem.

(Niu Yunzhen: Commentarieson The Book of Songs)