The Mid-Tang Dynasty was the second peak of the development of Tang poetry. The Mid-Tang Dynasty was the dividing point between the prosperity and decline of the Tang Dynasty. Against the background of a severely damaged society, the poetic style also changed from the vigorous and broad-mindedness of the prosperous Tang Dynasty to the delicate and delicate style of the Mid-Tang Dynasty.
Although the poetry of the Mid-Tang Dynasty did not regain the romance and magnificence of the prosperous Tang Dynasty, it took a different approach, shifting from orthodoxy to popular poetry. Poets consciously studied, imitated and adapted folk songs from the countryside, which brought the development of realistic poetry in the Tang Dynasty to a peak. There are two poetry schools that best embody the poetry atmosphere: Han and Meng poetry schools and Yuan and Bai poetry schools.
The development of various schools
Han Yu and Meng Jiao used poetry to comprehensively express their life experiences and feelings about real life, and described their own mental journeys deeply and delicately. Their poetic style Honest and dangerous. For example, in Meng Jiao's "Visiting Zhongnan Mountain", Zhongnan is a world of its own, quiet and pleasant. The people in the mountain are "in the middle" but not deviant, the people in the mountain are "righteous" but not evil, and the people outside the mountain are evil and dangerous.
Bai Juyi, Yuan Zhen, Zhang Jie, Wang Jian, etc. inherited Du Fu's tradition and further advocated: "Articles are written according to the time, and songs and poems are written according to the matter." They set off the New Yuefu Movement, regardless of the subject matter. It has developed in terms of breadth, complexity of organization, and simplicity of style. For example, Bai Juyi's "Song of Everlasting Sorrow" is moving, touching and pathos, showing the poetic story layer by layer.