Kishōtenketsu

Kishōtenketsu (起承転結) describes the four-part structure of many classic Chinese, Korean, Japanese and Vietnamese narratives. The parts can be summarized as: introduction, development, twist or reversal, and resolution.

Kishōtenketsu as a narrative structure does not center on conflict as part of its structure, especially when compared to common Western narrative structures like the three-act structure and Joseph Campbell's "Hero's Journey." This has led to the structure being popularly described as "without conflict," although narratives created using kishōtenketsu, such as the 2019 South Korean film Parasite, can and often do contain conflict.

Kishōtenketsu also is not symmetrical in structure in that it deliberately holds back a major story element until the third of four acts, which often changes the genre of the story.