In the Middle Ages of China, during the Han, Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the central government has always set up a special official Yuefu to manage music and songs, and was responsible for collecting and compiling all kinds of music and singing it through poems. These poems sung by music are called Yuefu poems, also called Yuefu for short.
There are a large number of existing Yuefu poems, many of which are collected from folk songs, and most of them are works of literati. Yuefu poems were originally written in music, but later many literati's works were written only in Yuefu style, without music. This is the case with the new Yuefu poems in the Tang Dynasty.
Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty created Yuefu and collected local folk songs, which played an important role in the history of China's poetry. The Yuefu in the two Han Dynasties "was influenced by sorrows and joys and originated from events", which reflected the real life of the society in the Han Dynasty. The ideological content was sincere and profound, and the artistic form was lively and full of vitality, which had a far-reaching impact on the creation of Yuefu folk songs in later generations. Many poets, such as Bao Zhao, Du Fu, Bai Juyi, Yuan Zhen and Pi Rixiu, have written many excellent Yuefu poems.
Stylistically, Yuefu poems are mainly composed of five words, seven words and miscellaneous words. The sentence pattern is flexible and free, the language is natural and fluent, easy to understand, catchy and full of life breath. This simple poetic style, simple and fresh words, and the feelings permeated in the poem are not only of universal significance, but also pure and natural. Yuefu poetry is a milestone in the history of poetry, which symbolizes the beginning of literati poetry, the pursuit of individual freedom and the perfection of personality. Poetry in Yuefu poetry can really be called lyric poetry.