During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, generally speaking, the culture of the Southern Dynasties developed in the Northern Dynasties. Wen Zisheng, Xing Shao and Wei Shou are the main poets in the Northern Dynasty, and Yan Zhitui, Xiao Yan, Yu Xin and Wang Bo are the poets from south to north. Many outstanding poets emerged in the Southern Dynasties, the Song Dynasty, the Qi Dynasty, the Liang Dynasty and the Chen Dynasty, such as Liu Song's "Three Masters of Yuanjia": Xie Lingyun, Bao Zhao and Yan Yanzhi; Wang Xiaokai, the King of Jingling in the Southern Qi Dynasty, was known as "Eight Friends of Jingling" in history. Among them, Xie Tiao and Chen Yinke, as representatives, wrote poems of "Yongming Style", which had a far-reaching influence on other writers in the Southern Dynasties (such as He Xun and Chen Yinke in the Liang Dynasty). Liu Xiaozhuo and Wang Yun were among the literary groups centered on Prince Zhaoming Xiaotong in the early Liang Dynasty, and their poems were just a show. In the late Liang Dynasty, Jian Wendi was mainly a literary group with Xiao Gang as its core, among which "Palace Poetry" represented by Xu Yi, Xu Ling, Yu Jianwu and Yu Xin was also called "Yu Xushi".
Xie Tiao is a representative poet of Yongming style, not only the most outstanding among the Eight Friends in Jingling, but also the most outstanding poet in Qi and Liang Dynasties. His most outstanding contribution is the development of landscape poetry and the exploration of new style poetry. He was not only famous at that time, but also had a far-reaching influence on the prosperity of Tang poetry later, and even great poets such as Li Bai and Du Fu fell for it. Li Baizan said: "The bones of great writers are your brushes, and in heaven, there are clear hair", and Du Fu also said: "Xie Shuneng satirizes every article, and Feng Tang always praises it", which shows that Xie Tiao's poems are outstanding.
At the age of 42, Yu Xin, the representative of "Palace Poetry" at the end of Liang Dynasty, was sent to the Western Wei Dynasty and forced to be an official in an enemy country. His experience from south to north has made his artistic attainments reach the height of "the victory of poor north and south", which is of typical significance in the history of China literature.
So if you ask me who is the greatest poet in the Northern and Southern Dynasties, I will say Xie Tiao and Yu Xin.