Tang poetry is divided into several stages, and the representative figures in each stage.

Since the Song Dynasty, when people look at the development of Tang poetry, they always remember to divide the development of Tang poetry into stages, so there is such a saying as "Three Tang Dynasties and Four Tang Dynasties". Since the theory of four Tang Dynasties was put forward in Ming Dynasty, people generally recognized the authority of this theory. And authority is based on reason. The Four-Tang Theory divides the development of Tang poetry into four periods: the early Tang Dynasty, the prosperous Tang Dynasty, the middle Tang Dynasty and the late Tang Dynasty, which is reasonable because it truly outlines the characteristics of the development of Tang poetry in different periods.

The early Tang Dynasty, that is, before Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty, was the primary stage of the development of Tang poetry. On the one hand, the palace poems in the Southern Dynasties occupy a dominant position in the poetic world, from Emperor Taizong to Shangguan Yi, all of which are gorgeous and charming works; On the other hand, the prelude of poetry reform has quietly opened. The reform of poetry in the early Tang Dynasty was mainly carried out in two aspects: a group of lower-class poets, represented by Si Jie, realized from their own experiences that poetry creation must express their true feelings, so they advocated "Youzhou Tower", "Love", "Political Prisoner Listening to Cicada", "Joining the Army" and "Farewell to Du DuDu to Shu" and other emotional works. The upper-class poets, represented by Shen Quanqi, Song and Shangguan Yi, developed and perfected the poetic law in the meticulous carving of poetic art, finally completed the finalization of the poetic law, and developed palace-style poems in form. So there were no great poets in the early Tang Dynasty, but there were outstanding poetry reformers.

The prosperous Tang Dynasty, that is, from Xuanzong to Tang Daizong, was a period of high prosperity of Tang poetry. The poets in the prosperous Tang Dynasty combined the reform achievements of the poets in the early Tang Dynasty in content and form, and completed the combination of content and form. Poetry creation shines brilliantly, and famous poets such as Wang Wei, Meng Haoran, Gao Shi, Cen Can, Wang Changling, Wang Zhihuan, Li Bai and Du Fu have emerged. Whether writing pastoral landscapes, describing frontier life, or expressing social life, they all try their best to form distinctive personality characteristics. They sang "Prosperous Tang Dynasty" with different voices-a spirit full of ideals, high spirits and enthusiasm. These poets are great poets of this era, and because they stand at the peak of the times, they have become great poets of the whole history. Li Bai and Du Fu, in particular, have become unattainable models for future generations.

The middle Tang Dynasty, that is, the period from Tang Daizong to Tang Wenzong, was also the glorious period of Tang poetry. The "Anshi Rebellion" caused the Tang Dynasty to turn from prosperity to decline, and the national strength declined, but poetry did not decline. Outstanding poets in this period, such as Bai Juyi, Han Yu, Liu Zongyuan, Liu Yuxi and Yuan Zhen, are still heroic and not inferior to poets in the prosperous Tang Dynasty. Therefore, some people in the academic circles think that the achievements of poetry in the middle Tang Dynasty even surpassed those in the prosperous Tang Dynasty. The greatest feature of poetry in this period is that there are many factions, and the poet's personal style is extremely prominent. From the beginning of "Ten Talents in Dali Period" to the later Han Meng School of Poetry, they all have distinct personal styles.

The late Tang Dynasty, that is, from Tang Wenzong to the death of Tang Dynasty, is the sunset period of Tang poetry. Li Shangyin, a representative poet of this period, wrote the poem "The sunset is infinitely beautiful and buried by the coming night", which is a portrayal of poetry in this period. There was no ideal in this period, only sadness, sentimentality and floweriness, which constituted the main characteristics of poetry in this period. The representative poets Li Shangyin, Du Mu and Wen are just swan's swan songs.