The myths and legends created orally by ancient people are the seeds of romanticism in the history of China literature. In the Warring States period, Qu Yuan absorbed the achievements of the previous generation of literature and culture and created a series of brilliant poems in the real struggle. After the poet went abroad, before he left home, with rich content and strange form, created the first peak for the romantic tradition. At the same time, Zhuangzi created many illusions in his philosophical prose. It also made an important contribution to the romantic tradition. From the Han Dynasty to the early Tang Dynasty, the romantic tradition continued to develop in the creation of folk and progressive literati. The poems of Shang Mosang and Mulan in Yuefu folk songs of Han, Wei and Six Dynasties, some poems by Cao Zhi, Ruan Ji, Zuo Si, Tao Yuanming and Bao Zhao, and excellent legends in novels of the Six Dynasties all enriched the romantic tradition. Even appeared in the prosperous Tang Dynasty.
Li Bai's poems and songs inherited the achievements of the previous generation's romantic creation. With his rebellious thoughts and bold style, he reflected the optimistic creative spirit and the potential power of dissatisfaction with feudal order in the prosperous Tang Dynasty, expanded the expressive field of romanticism, enriched the expressive methods of romanticism, and to some extent embodied the combination of romanticism and realism. These achievements make his poetry a new peak of romantic poetry after Qu Yuan.
Li Bai also made outstanding contributions to the innovation of Tang poetry. He inherited Chen Ziang's thought of poetry innovation and achieved ultimate success in theory and practice. In The First Ancient Style, he reviewed the whole history of poetry development and pointed out that "since Jian 'an, beauty is not precious". He also proudly affirmed the correct way for Tang poetry to regain its elegance and tradition. In "Thirty-five Antique Poems", he also criticized the remaining formalistic poetic style that emphasized imitation and carving at that time, ignoring ideological content: "A brilliant song is childish." In creative practice, he is also similar to Chen Ziang, writing more classical poems and less metrical poems. But he studied Yuefu folk songs and vigorously developed seven-character poems. This achievement far exceeds that of Chen Ziang. His efforts have played a great role in completing the task of poetry innovation. After Li's death, he said in the preface of his collection of poems "Caotang Collection": "Lu Huangmen said:' Chen has changed a lot. Today, there is a wind of poetry in the DPRK, and people have changed greatly and swept the floor. "This is correct.
Li Bai's poems have a far-reaching influence on later generations. The titles of his poems are widely circulated in contemporary times. By the Zhenyuan period, his unconfirmed poems had been "available to every family". In the middle Tang Dynasty, Han Yu and Meng Jiao highly praised his poems and learned from him, thus forming their own unique poetic style. Li He's romantic poetic style is obviously more inspired by him. Song Dynasty poets Su Shunqin, Wang Ling, Su Shi and Lu You. Poets such as Gao Qi, Yang Shen, Huang Jingren and Gong Zizhen in the Ming and Qing Dynasties all drew nutrition from his poems. In addition, the words of the uninhibited school represented by Su Shi and Xin Qiji in the Song Dynasty were also influenced by him. His story and legend of "being friends in the play" were written into operas and novels, which spread among the people and showed the love of people who love freedom.
Therefore, Li Bai is a great romantic poet in the history of China.