Han Yu was an advocate of the ancient prose movement in the Tang Dynasty, and was honored by later generations as the first of the "eight masters in the Tang and Song Dynasties". He and Liu Zongyuan are also called "Liu Han", and they are known as "great writers" and "one hundred generations of literators". Later generations, together with Liu Zongyuan, Ouyang Xiu and Su Shi, are also called "the four great writers of the ages". In the old Guangdong Tongzhi, it was called one of the "Eight Sages of Ancient Guangdong". His prose writing theories, such as "the unity of literature and Taoism", "moderation in speech", "doing good deeds" and "having a proper speech", have important guiding significance for future generations. He is the author of 40 volumes of Han Changli's Collected Works, Waiji, Shishuo, etc. 10.
Han Yu studied Confucianism and the way of imperial examination hard all his life, entered the shogunate twice, and was repeatedly relegated. He followed the expedition to Huaixi, remonstrated with Buddha's bones, went to Zhenzhou, settled down in his later years, and died at home.
Han Yu and Liu Zongyuan were the leaders of the ancient prose movement in Tang Dynasty, Ouyang Xiu and Su San were the core figures of the ancient prose movement in Song Dynasty, and Wang Anshi and Ceng Gong were the representatives of Linchuan literature. Han Yu is also the initiator of the "ancient prose movement", and the wave of ancient prose innovation they set off one after another is an important figure in the development of poetry.
Han Yu's articles are all "true and fearless". He dares to tell the truth in front of the monarch. Even now, many people will say something flattering in front of their leaders. What we need most now is people like him. He dares to say things that are contrary to the old, regardless of Confucian traditional concepts, and also says things that are inconsistent with his own articles.
Han Yu advocated inheriting the tradition of prose in the pre-Qin and Han dynasties and opposed parallel prose. In the early spring, "Two Poems by Zhang Eighteen People in the Ministry of Water Affairs" was very fresh, similar to the poems in the prosperous Tang Dynasty. Han Yu was the first person known as "Taishan Beidou" in the Tang Dynasty.