The background of the times is different: Folk songs in the Northern Dynasties refer to folk poems handed down from the Southern and Northern Dynasties, which mainly reflect the social life, historical events and people's feelings at that time. Ancient poetry refers to China's ancient poetry, including the Book of Songs, Chu Ci, Han Fu, Tang Poetry, Song Ci and so on. Its creation time spans a long time, from pre-Qin to Ming and Qing Dynasties.
The content and style are different: the content of folk songs in the Northern Dynasties mainly involves social reality, war, love, philosophy of life and so on. The style is simple, straightforward, bold and infectious. The content of ancient poetry is more extensive, including lyric, narrative, discussion and other types, and the styles are more diverse, some are bold and passionate, and some are graceful and delicate.