Li Bai was active and enterprising all his life, full of rebellious spirit. He loves people, pursues beautiful ideals, loves free life, despises powerful people, opposes decadent and dark social reality, and has great political ambitions. This is the mainstream of his thought. However, due to the ups and downs of his life, his ideological character is extremely complicated and contradictory, so when he is frustrated and unable to get rid of his inner pain, he often reveals a lonely and depressed mood, indulging in wine and seeking immortality.
There are more than 990 poems and songs by Li Bai, which are bold and unique. The subject matter is extensive and the content is complex, which describes all aspects of society. It criticizes the arrogance and decay of the upper-class aristocratic forces, exposes the dark corruption of the ruling class politics, and shows the rebellious spirit of vulgarity against powerful people and the beautiful desire to resist the shackles of feudal order and pursue freedom.
His representative works include Difficult Road to Shu, Three Songs, Jiang, Dream in Tianmu Mountain, The Beginning of Baidicheng, Hugh and so on. Dream on Mount Tianmu is the most representative romantic masterpiece in Li Bai's poems. Bai Di City is also a masterpiece carefully carved by Li Bai. With heroic momentum and handsome brushwork, the poet expressed his joy and cheerful mood when he swam the river, and was praised by the king of Qing Dynasty as "the first of the seven wonders of Tang Dynasty".
Li Bai's poems have unparalleled magical artistic charm. His rough experience, extensive reading and complicated thoughts have a great influence on his poetry creation. Therefore, his works are full of romantic characteristics, magnificent, elegant style, like to borrow myths and legends, unconstrained style and rich imagination. Make good use of bold exaggeration and strange metaphor, vivid image and profound connotation. The language is simple, natural, lively and easy to understand. Oppose flowery rhetoric, advocate the poetic style of "clear water produces hibiscus and natural carving", which is free and changeable in form, giving people a feeling of being unrestrained, free and easy, rushing thousands of miles and stirring people's hearts.
As the first representative writer in the prosperous Tang Dynasty, Li Bai was a poet with the most works, the highest achievements and the highest reputation at that time. His poetry is another peak of positive romanticism in ancient China after Qu Yuan. Together with Du Fu and others, he promoted and completed the great cause of poetry innovation initiated by Chen Ziang, which opened up a new situation for the prosperity and development of Tang poetry. His works became a glorious chapter in the history of China's poetry, and initiated the golden age of China's ancient poetry.
Li Bai is one of the greatest poets in the history of China literature, and he is also called Du Li with Du Fu, which has a far-reaching influence on later poetry creation. Han Yu once spoke highly of him, saying that "Du Li's article is there, and the flames are endless". His achievements had a great influence on many poets and poets at that time and later. Li He, Li Shangyin, Su Shi, Lu You, Xin Qiji, Gong Zizhen and others made outstanding achievements, all of which were influenced by Li Bai. Lu You: He said "10,000 songs in 60 years", and there are still more than 9,300 songs.
His poems can be roughly divided into three periods:
The first period is from adolescence to middle age [46 years old], with the longest period but the least number of works, about 200, because Lu You deleted and eliminated his early works.
The second period is 46-54 years old, with more than 2,400 poems. During this period, due to the deepening of military life, the poetic style became bold and magnificent, and the patriotic thought was further enhanced. The maturity and richness of poetry creation in this period established his lofty position as a generation of literati.
The third period is from seclusion to death, with 6500 existing poems. The large number is because he was eliminated in his later years. During this period, there were many contacts with farmers, the official sea was ups and downs, and the age was high, and the style changed to Qingyuan's pastoral style and desolate life feeling.
Bai Juyi: There are nearly 3,000 existing poems, which are second to none in the Tang Dynasty.