Meng is from The Book of Songs, and Li Sao is from The Songs of Chu. The Book of Songs and Songs of the South are both the most important poems of China in the pre-Qin period, which created romanticism and realism for traditional literature respectively.
There are great differences in artistic techniques between The Book of Songs and Songs of the South, but these differences are not mutually exclusive. The Songs of Chu inherited the technique of "Fu Bi prospering" in the Book of Songs, but on this basis, it developed greatly and applied it to the extreme.
There is a saying in the Book of Songs "Mangzhong": "Mulberry leaves flourish first and then fall", "Mulberry leaves fall first, but they are yellow". This is a typical method of rejuvenating prosperity with things, but the substrate and people are described separately.
In Lisao, Qu Yuan's works depict fine birds and exotic herbs, bad birds and smelly things, spiritual beauty, Fu Fei's widowed daughter, Yi Long's husband and wife, floating clouds and neon lights, high crown and strange clothes, and a jade couple. They are either loyal, comparable to monarchs, or worthy ministers, or gentlemen, or villains, or extraordinary, or pursuing. These are no longer objects of metaphor, nor exciting things, but symbols that combine the subject's emotion, personality and ideal, and become images with artistic interest.
This breaks through the limitations of metaphor in The Book of Songs, which is characterized by lyricism by borrowing things. This is a breakthrough, an innovation and a new attempt. In the history of China's traditional poetry, it is of epoch-making significance.