Bai Juyi's influence in Japan far exceeds that of Li Bai and Du Fu. Why do the Japanese admire Bai Juyi so much?

China culture has a great and far-reaching influence on neighboring countries, among which Japanese has the greatest influence. China's ancient poems developed rapidly in the Tang Dynasty, both in quantity and quality. Since the Nara era, Japan has sent a large number of envoys to study in the Tang Dynasty, and the cultural exchanges between China and Japan have deepened.

Excellent works of this period were introduced into Japan in large quantities through the expulsion of the Tang Dynasty. Bai Juyi's Collection of Vernacular Essays and Evergreen Collection of Vernacular Essays were introduced to Japan during this period. As soon as Bai Juyi's poems were introduced, they spread quickly and were deeply loved by Japanese literati at that time. At that time, those who talked about China's poems and essays must be called Selected Works and Bai Evergreen Collection.

At the same time as Bai Juyi, the wise Japanese emperor also liked Bai Juyi's selected works very much. It is said that when he first got Bai Juyi's anthology, he secretly collected it and read it as a treasure. Later, when he asked whether the examination questions were knowledgeable, he deliberately misread Bai Juyi's poems. If he is familiar with Bai Juyi's poems, it will test his subjective ability.

In the eyes of modern people, the most influential poets in the Tang Dynasty were Li Bai and Du Fu, backed by Bai Juyi. Why didn't Japan learn from Li Bai and Du Fu, but bypassed them and learned a poet who was not the most concerned in China? Why is Bai Juyi more influential in Japan than Li Bai and Du Fu? First of all, it should be because Bai Juyi's poems are rich in content and widely used, covering all aspects of social life at that time, and it is easy to learn and learn from. Bai Juyi wrote more than 3,000 poems in his life. These poems are well preserved and he is the outstanding poet in the Tang Dynasty.

On the other hand, Bai Juyi's simple and popular poetry style also played a great role in its wide spread in Japan. Bai Juyi's poems are easy to understand and suitable for all ages. Although the Japanese advocated Chinese at that time, and many nobles were proud to speak Chinese, Chinese was still an obscure language for the Japanese. Few poets in China can reach the level of Li Bai and Du Fu, let alone Japanese. So it was not easy for Japanese literati to write poems in Chinese characters at that time, and Li Bai and Du Fu's poems were too difficult for them. Only Bai Juyi's poems can meet the requirements of reading and copying, so they are very popular with Japanese scholars.