Poetry is actually ancient popular songs. They record the changes of the times and are the melody of history.
It is also about recording history. History books are from a national perspective, recording the history of emperors and generals, while poetry is from a personal perspective, recording personal happiness, anger, sorrow, and joy. Compared with the fleeting poetry of history, these feelings are eternal.
Tang poetry is the most important part of ancient poetry. Learning Tang poetry well is an important step in learning ancient poetry well. In fact, the origin of poetry is a slogan when working. Therefore, Mr. Lu Xun said: Poetry is rhyme, which comes from labor.
In the Western Zhou Dynasty, Duke Zhou established a set of etiquette and music systems, which elevated etiquette, music, and dance to a national level, in order to enrich spiritual and civilized life. The imperial court specially set up an organization of poetry collectors, who were responsible for conducting research among the people, collecting folk songs from various places, and giving them to the imperial court's special song and dance troupe to compose music and perform it for Emperor Zhou. Emperor Zhou could rely on this to understand the sufferings of the people. Later, these poems were handed down, and Confucius compiled them again. This is China's first collection of poems, the Book of Songs.
"The Book of Songs" is divided into three types: Feng, Ya and Song. Wind: Also known as national style, it is folk songs from various places. Ya: Most of it is aristocratic music, such as music for banquets. Ode: music played on particularly important formal occasions, such as music used in sacrifices.
The poetry of the Tang Dynasty made great progress in the two general directions of rhythm and emotion, and Chinese poetry has since reached its peak.
In the late Southern and Northern Dynasties, poetry became less emotional, but in the Tang Dynasty, writing poetry became an important way to express joy, anger, sorrow, and joy. Without poetry, it was impossible to communicate. Every poet in the Tang Dynasty They are all drama queens whose inner drama explodes. There are people with all kinds of bells and whistles: such as the poet Li Bai, the poet sage Du Fu, and the poet Bai Juyi.
Tang poetry is like a martial arts master who has opened up the two lines of Ren and Du. He has used all the internal strength of his predecessors for his own use. There are many reasons for this, such as the strong national power of the Tang Dynasty, the high degree of national integration, the political enlightenment, etc.
In the Tang Dynasty, if you wanted to pass the Jinshi examination, it was a basic requirement to be able to write poems. At that time, if scholars from commoner backgrounds wanted to become officials, they had to take the imperial examination or rely on recommendations. To be recommended, you also had to be able to write poetry, otherwise no one would care about you. In addition, the Tang Dynasty was particularly exciting, and the country's destiny was like a roller coaster. One moment we were flying side by side into the sky, and the next moment we were holding hands and knocking our heads. The drastic changes in the fate of the country gave these poets endless psychological impact and creative inspiration. Therefore, the poetry of the Tang Dynasty can be divided according to time: the early Tang Dynasty, the prosperous Tang Dynasty, and the middle and late Tang Dynasty.
Early Tang Dynasty: Overthrow the dross of the Southern Dynasties, absorb traditional connotations, and open up a new path for poetry with characteristics of the Tang Dynasty.
Representative figures include the Four Heroes of the Early Tang Dynasty and Chen Ziang.
The prosperous Tang Dynasty: a hundred flowers bloomed and reached its peak.
Representative figures: Li Bai, Du Fu, etc.
Middle and late Tang Dynasty: The Tang Dynasty’s national power was weak and it was a personal worry.
Representative figures: Bai Juyi and others.
After Tang poetry, Song poetry took over the banner of ancient Chinese literature. However, Ci was not unique to the Song Dynasty. It existed during the Southern and Northern Dynasties. It slowly emerged during the Sui and Tang Dynasties and reached its peak only in the Song Dynasty. Ci is also called long and short sentences, and each sentence is of different lengths. It was originally used as lyrics for singing. Because it emerged among the people, it is mainly used to express emotions.