Generally speaking, Li Yu's ci can be divided into two periods, with the eight years of Song Taizu's treasure opening when he was in Song Dynasty as the dividing line. Most of the early writings of the late Lord are descriptions of the wanton joy of life. In the later period, Li Yu experienced the life changes of the country and family, and expressed his memories of the past and unbearable lament in his poems. Wu Mei's General Theory of Ci said: "Reading Li Houzhu's Ci can be divided into two categories. Just as Rong Sheng is in the south of the Yangtze River, although he sends his feelings and sounds, he is complacent in his brushwork and belongs to the same category. As for the works after entering the Song Dynasty, they are not in one category, and the feelings of sadness and joy are different, but they are also a question of writing or not believing. "
Generally speaking, Li Yu's ci has inherited the tradition of collecting flowers by Wen, Wei Zhuang and others since the late Tang Dynasty, and was influenced by Li Jing and others, which promoted the creation of ci.