What are the tonal patterns of the seven-character regulated verse?

The following are the two basic tonal patterns of the seven-character regulated verse:

A.  Starting with the deflected tone

            △△     ○○     ○△     △                     OR      △△     ○○     △△     ●

            ○○     △△     △○     ●                                 ○○     △△    △○      ●                                               

            ○○     △△     ○○     △                                 ○○     △△     ○○     △

            △△     ○○     △△     ●                                 △△     ○○     △△     ●

            △△     ○○     ○△     △                                 △△     ○○     ○△     △

            ○○     △△     △○     ●                                 ○○     △△     △○     ●

            ○○     △△     ○○     △                                 ○○     △△     ○○     △

            △△     ○○     △△     ●                                 △△     ○○     △△     ●

B.  Starting with the level tone

            ○○     △△     ○○     △                     OR      ○○     △△     △○     ●

            △△     ○○     △△     ●                                 △△     ○○     △△     ●                                   

            △△     ○○     ○△     △                                 △△     ○○     ○△     △                       

            ○○     △△     △○     ●                                 ○○     △△     △○     ●

            ○○     △△     ○○     △                                 ○○     △△     ○○     △

            △△     ○○     △△     ●                                 △△     ○○     △△     ●

            △△     ○○     ○△     △                                 △△     ○○     ○△     △

            ○○     △△     △○     ●                                 ○○     △△     △○     ●

        ○ =  level tone

            △ = deflected tone

            ● = rhyme (level tone)

            ○ = can be replaced by a deflected tone

            △ = can be replaced by a level tone

The rules governing five-character regulated verse also apply to seven-character regulated verse.  In general, characters placed at the first, third, and the fifth position are more flexible in the sense that they may be changed to a different tone.   However, any changes in tonal placement must not result in having one single level tone surrounded by two deflected tones as shown in the following case:

            ○○     △△     △○     △

This means that the level tone originally placed at the fifth position should not have been changed to a deflected tone as it now causes the sixth character to become a "lone ping" (孤平).

In addition,  the last three characters in a line cannot be all in level tones as shown in the following case:

            ○○     △△     ○○     ●

It should be pointed out that the above rules were not always observed by the masters of the Tang Dynasty.  Poets such as Li Bai did make exceptions from time to time in writing their regulated verses.

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