Song poetry

Song poetry refers to Classical Chinese poetry of or typical of the Song dynasty of China (960-1279). The dynasty was established by the Zhao family in China in 960 and lasted until 1279.

Many of the best known Classical Chinese poems, popular also in translation, are from the Song dynasty poets, such as Su Shi (Dongpo), Ouyang Xiu, Lu You and Yang Wanli. This was also a time of great achievement in painting and literature, and many artists were accomplished in more than one of these, as well as often being government officials.

The Song dynasty (960 - 1279) was the first time that China was unified into one state since the Tang dynasty, the two dynasties were separated from each other by the Tang-Song transition period, known as the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, a period of disunity. The Song period is divided into two parts, the first being the Northern Song (960–1127) which consisted of the China as reunified by the dynastic founder Emperor Taizu of Song. The second part of the Song period, known as the Southern Song (1127–1279) because the northern part of the empire was ceded to the military forces of the Jurchens, who formed their own Jin dynasty (1115–1234) out of this former Song imperial territory. The Southern Song then faced a protracted struggle against the Mongol Empire before finally succumbing to the Mongol forces, who then established themselves as the Chinese Yuan dynasty. Despite the constant military pressure and its numerous foreign affairs difficulties, the Song dynasty was generally a time of growing population, economical prosperity, and excellence in the fine arts.

The poets of the Song dynasty drew on a long tradition of poetry in China, but particularly upon forms prevalent in the Tang dynasty, or in the case of the ci form, that developed toward the end of the Tang dynasty and the period immediately before the Song dynasty, especially seen in the works of Li Yu of the Southern Tang dynasty. One of the new developments was a large increase in the popularity of the Ci form of poetry, a form based on the traditional forms and rhythms, ultimately drawn from popular songs, but with new words. Another development was an increasing fusion of painting and poetry, such as in the various Eight Views of the Xiao Xiang series of matched paintings and poems. Many of the Song Dynasty poets were greatly affected by the politics of the time.

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