Song+poetry

=Song poetry=

This article is about poetry of the Chinese Song Dynasty. For the article about "song lyrics that have been set to music for a fee", in 20th Century North America, see Song poem. For article about poetry that is sung, see Sung poetry.
 * Song poetry** refers to Classical Chinese poetry of or typical of the Song Dynasty of China. This dynasty is sometimes referred to as the "Sung Dynasty", especially in older sources). It was established by the Zhao family in China in 960 and lasted until 1279. Many of the best known and most popular Classical Chinese poems, either in their original or 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 was divided into two parts, the Northern Song Dynasty, 960–1127, and the Southern Song Dynasty, 1127–1279.

Historical background
The Song Dynasty was the first time that China was unified into one state since the Tang Dynasty. It was a time of great population, prosperity, and poetry.

The poetic tradition
The poets of the Song Dynasty drew on a long tradition of poetry in China, but particularly the forms which were prevalent in the 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.

The Ci form
The Ci as a poetic form perhaps reached a high point during the Song Dynasty. Many of its prime proponents were female poets, such as Li Qingzhao.

Xiaoxiang: poems of exile
As in Tang times, many of the poems were written by poets who had lost or never received the high paying government positions in the imperial court. Although this type of poetry dates back at least to the Third Century, it developed to new levels of subtle discontent.