Yuan Zhen and Bai Juyi were both famous poets in the Tang Dynasty. They all advocate the New Yuefu Movement, but they have their own characteristics and differences in poetry creation.
First of all, in the theme and content of poetry, both pay attention to reflecting social reality and people's livelihood, which embodies the characteristics of realistic poetry. However, Bai Juyi's poems cover all aspects of social life more widely, including politics, economy and military affairs, while Yuan Zhen's poems pay more attention to social problems and people's sufferings. For example, The White-haired Man wrote that folk women were imprisoned in the palace and wasted their youth, while Hua mocked the king for not distinguishing between good and evil.
Secondly, in the form of poetry, Bai Juyi's poems pay more attention to the popularity and understandability of language. He advocated that "articles should be written in time, songs and poems should be written in substance" and that poetry should be close to life, people and easy to understand and accept. However, Yuan Zhen's poems pay more attention to lyricism and artistry, with more beautiful language and vivid image.
Finally, in terms of artistic achievements, although Yuan Zhen's poems are slightly inferior to Bai Juyi in terms of concentration of theme, profound thoughts and vivid images, they have unique artistic charm and are called "Bai Yuan" by later generations. Bai Juyi's poems have made great contributions to popularization and realism, and his poetry theory and creative practice have had a far-reaching impact on later poetry creation.
Yuan Zhen's and Bai Juyi's Yuefu poems have their own characteristics and differences in subject matter, form and artistic achievements, but they all made important contributions to the development of the new Yuefu movement and had a far-reaching impact on the development of China's classical poetry. Bai Juyi's poems pay more attention to the popularity and understandability of language.
He advocated that "articles should be written in time, songs and poems should be written in substance" and that poetry should be close to life, people and easy to understand and accept. However, Yuan Zhen's poems pay more attention to lyricism and artistry, with more beautiful language and vivid image.