In fact, starting from the Middle Tang Dynasty, Tang poetry has a tendency to evolve into Song poetry in the future. Many characteristics of Song poetry can be traced back to the poems of Du Fu and Han Yu. From the perspective of the entire history of poetry, Song poetry is the inevitable result of the development of Tang poetry. Tang poetry and Song poetry are of the same origin. For example, poetry tends to be popular in subject matter and language, describing ordinary and trivial daily life, and using common words and slang. This trend started with Du Fu, Han Yu, Bai Juyi, Meng Jiao, Jia Dao and Pi in the late Tang Dynasty. Rixiu, Luo Yin and others developed further, while the poets of the Song Dynasty followed its flow and spread its waves. Another example is expressing opinions in poetry, which also started with Du Fu and Han Yu. It has become common in the poems of Du Mu and Li Shangyin in the late Tang Dynasty. After the Song Dynasty, it developed into a common trend in the poetry world. The poets of the Song Dynasty fully absorbed the nutrients of Tang poetry and created a generation of poetic style. Du Fu and Han Yu played a particularly important role in inspiring Song poetry. People in the Song Dynasty once said: "Those who are good at poetry must choose Du Fu." (Huang Sang's "Preface to the Collection of Old Poems by Chen Shang") People in the Qing Dynasty believed: "Han Yu was one of the great changes in Tang poetry. He was powerful, thought of heroes, and rose to prominence. He is the originator of it. Su, Meiou, Su, Wang, and Huang of the Song Dynasty all became more and more prosperous." (Volume 1 of Ye Xie's "Original Poems") These discussions are all consistent with reality. The valuable thing about the people of the Song Dynasty is that they did not follow the steps of Tang poetry, but had some causes and innovations, so they were able to create Song poetry that stood side by side with Tang poetry.
Tang poetry and Song poetry are not only the general names of poetry in two dynasties, but also represent two poetic methods and poems in the history of Chinese poetry. The difference between them is that: Tang poetry focuses on romance, and even if it is reasoning, it is mostly expressed in a lyrical way; Song poetry likes to reason and advocates discussion. Tang poems are mostly implicit; Song poems are mostly explicit, conveying the fullest meaning. Tang poetry pays more attention to the direct description and expression of life feelings; the excellent works of Song poetry also come from life, but they often grasp it rationally first and then choose the appropriate form. Therefore, even if the sentences of Song poems are vivid and concrete, there is always some kind of undercurrent of logical thinking running through them, unlike Tang poems where the artistic conception is mostly expressed in an intuitive form. In short, Tang poetry always uses perceptual images to grasp reality, while Song poetry relies more on rational thinking to dissect reality. Tang poetry has a stronger poetic flavor, while Song poetry has a lighter poetic flavor, but it makes up for it with the meticulousness and depth of thought and the excellence of technical language. For these reasons, Song poetry is easier to learn than Tang poetry. Tang poetry relies on inspiration, while Song poetry relies on talent and learning; talent and learning can be obtained through hard work, but inspiration cannot be forced. Tang poetry relies on sensibility, while Song poetry relies on rationality; rationality can be obtained through careful consideration, but sensibility (image thinking) is more difficult to capture. Moreover, those who studied the Song Dynasty in the Qing Dynasty did not reject Tang poetry, and often learned about the Tang poetry from the Song Dynasty, so it was easier to use force without causing the disadvantages of rough outlines. Therefore, Zong Song often achieved greater achievements than Zong Tang.