There is no doubt that Li Bai can best show the spiritual outlook of the whole society and the artistic achievements of poetry in the prosperous Tang Dynasty. Li Bai's poetic style is uncertain, but his achievements are extremely high. Moreover, Li Bai pushed the writing of Yuefu poetry to a new height, and his four-line poem was considered as the representative of the seven-line poem in Tang Dynasty. Li Bai's poems are very imaginative, and also reflect the self-confidence and ideal outlook of people in the prosperous Tang Dynasty. The bold spirit in Li Bai's poems was also determined by the prosperous times at that time. Li Bai wrote poems boldly and elegantly through his own imagination, so Li Bai was also called the fallen fairy.
Moreover, Li Bai's poems and songs are very ethereal to read, so Li Bai is called a poet by later generations. But if it can reflect the actual social situation and the life of the people at the bottom, it is naturally Du Fu's poem. Du Fu's poetry is a history of poetry, which makes sense.
Compared with Li Bai, Du Fu was active mainly after An Shi Rebellion. What Du Fu saw was a more tragic and real society than Li Bai, and it was also a society that turned from prosperity to decline after the prosperous times. Du Fu was deeply influenced by Confucianism all his life, but he never became a big official and lived in poverty. During the war, Du Fu wandered around, which also showed him the social features of the Tang Dynasty. Therefore, Du Fu's poems have distinct characteristics of the times and strong political inclination. Du Fu's poems are patriotic and love the people, with the lofty spirit of Confucianism, so Du Fu is also called a poet saint.