Poetry of the Past: Tang and Song Poetry

Upon reading poems from the Tang and Song dynasties, I must say that I enjoyed them. The way the poems are written it is usually very clear what the point of the poem is and what emotion is being portrayed of concealed. Even though my favoritism lies with the poetry of the Tang dynasty, I enjoyed the  perspective gained by reading the poetry of both the Song and Tang dynasties.

Throughout history, the reasons people share their emotions changes. Some dynasties oppressed the feelings of their citizens, while others encouraged the sharing and expression of life and culture. To me the poetry from both of these dynasties is an outpouring of emotion and culture. In poetry from both dynasties, the moon seems to appear as an emotional symbol of unity, while drinking is often associated with loneliness and nature, especially in the symbolic lines of Li Bai's poetry. Strong connections with nature also seem to be a motif throughout the poetry of both dynasties. However, Song poetry was much shorter than the poetry of the Tang, but was often much more morbid, focusing less on the unity of the world through nature, and much more centered around suffering. Often in Song poetry it appears that the author feels a pull towards death or a lost one whom they very dearly cherished. Song poetry also seems to carry some discontent towards the government and ruling bureaucracies at the time, while Tang poetry is much more about personal loneliness and grief.

Indirectly poems always reflect upon the person that wrote them, but not always on the societies from which they were written. In the case of Tang and Song poetry however, I think that the poems are an accurate reflection of the societies that they came from. Poetry from the both the Tang and Song dynasty is rich with themes and symbols that are reoccurring, such as the moon, alcohol and family. Through these poems we can see the strong aspects of Chinese society. Smart children, polite young children inquiring about a journey, drinking with the moon and the unity the moon brings to all those who are separated. These could very well have been feelings that the people of Song and Tang (post-clasical) China fostered and lived with. I think that this poetry could absolutely be used to reflect upon as well as gather knowledge of Tang and Song Chinese culture from. Literature is a rich source of information, and poetry helps to add another dimension to this literature, a dimension of emotion that can been seem from the eyes of the author, and I think that is important when learning about a culture and its traditions.