Now there are only over 900 poems by Li Bai, which are probably lost, but they are very rich and colorful. Li Bai cared about state affairs all his life, hoping to make contributions to the country, and was dissatisfied with the dark reality. His "59 Ancient Styles" is a masterpiece in this respect, which widely exposes and criticizes the dark and corrupt politics in the late Tang Xuanzong period, and reflects the grief and indignation of the talented people who have no choice but to go. Li Bai is full of irony and lofty spirit. But he doesn't envy splendor, but thinks, "What are bells and drums, delicacies and treasures?" ("into the wine"). After making contributions, he will follow the example of Lu Zhonglian, an aristocratic scholar in the Warring States Period, and retire without honor. His thoughts were obviously influenced by Taoism, especially Zhuangzi.
Many of Li Bai's poems show concern and sympathy for people's lives. This kind of content is often combined with criticizing the rulers. Some of his Yuefu poems reflect women's life and pain, which focus on women's thinking and memories, as well as the grievances of businessmen, abandoned wives and maids. His love is in Xun's home under the Five Songshan Mountains, Ding Du Hugh and Qiupu Song.
Li Bai wrote many poems describing natural scenery in his life. His poems "It's hard to get to the sky through the Shu Road", "The water of the Yellow River can't be moved out of the sky, into the ocean and never return" (Into the wine) and "Suspected that the Milky Way has fallen for nine days" (Looking at Lushan Waterfall) are all famous sentences that will be passed down through the ages.
Other poems, such as Qiu Deng, Qi Xie North Building in Xuancheng, Sitting Alone in Jingting Mountain, and Journey to Qingxi, are good at depicting quiet scenery, fresh and meaningful, and their styles are close to those of Wang Wei and Meng Haoran.
Li Bai also has many poems praising love and friendship. His Yuefu poems often express euphemistic and profound love from the perspective of women cherishing people. There are also some poems about giving gifts and missing your wife, and their feelings are quite deep. Li Bai gave his friends a lot of works, and many excellent ones. Some show distinct political attitudes, and more often, they show their daily feelings of farewell and homesickness, such as "Yellow Crane Tower Farewell Meng Haoran to Yangzhou" and "Seeing Off at Dune Gate".
The content of Li Bai's poems also contains some feudal dross, mostly advocating the negative nihilism of life like a dream, eating, drinking and reveling, and religious superstition of seeking immortals to visit the Tao and taking pills. Some of his poems about women and love are vulgar. Li Bai's poems use a lot of exaggeration and vivid metaphors. His "But since the water is still flowing, although we use the sword to cut and raise our glasses to eliminate our worries" (Uncle Yun, Letter of Farewell to Xuanzhou Xielou School) and "White Hair, Three thousands of feet, Sorrow Like a Beard" (the fifteenth part of Qiupu Song) depict his deep and extensive worries after the failure of political activities in Chang 'an. His famous sentence "Poetry is given to the north window, but words are not worth a glass of water" (. "I would like to cross the Yellow River, but the ice will choke on the ferry, and Taihang Mountain will be covered with snow" ("Difficult to Travel"), which is difficult to write a career; "Peach Blossom Pond is deeper than thousands of feet, not as good as Wang Lun" ("To Wang Lun"), and writing about the deep friendship between friends all impress readers with distinctive and prominent images.