Li Bai lived in the prosperous Tang Dynasty, the country was strong, and scholars were eager to make contributions. Therefore, as a scholar in the prosperous Tang Dynasty, his poems echoed the times and showed great aspirations.
Du Fu lived in the historical period from prosperity to decline in the Tang Dynasty, and his poems were mostly about social unrest, political darkness and people's sufferings. His poems reflect the social contradictions and people's sufferings at that time, so Du Fu's poems are characterized by strict meter, restrained emotion and depression.