
In the beginning of the Song Dynasty the Song poems wavered along the trail of the affectionate lyrics of the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties , showing little sign of vitality . After continuous Shi . His style was extraordinarily vigorous , bringing to the Son poems a brand new feature .
Su Shi was able to blaze a new way in the Song poems , chiefly by breaking away from the decadent subject matter and adopting a bold style . With his adventurous enterprising spirit , his unrestrained , optimistic personality , his patrioticism and his love of life , he diverted the course of the Song poems from “singing at feasts” and “amidst flowers” to singing the broader life and society .
His famous works “When Moon Is So Bright” (Tune : “Prelude to Water Melody” ) and “River Flows on to the East” ( Tune : “Charm of a Songstress” ) represented best his innovation These described respectively his
thoughts for his family at the Mid-Autumn festival and his visit to an ancient battlefield , the Red Cliff . These subject matters were seldom found in the earlier Song poems . His conception on life , “Men go through sorrow and joy , parting and meeting”, and his conception on history , “Same mountains and rivers , but different people” , brought new contents to these themes . He injected his real feelings into the picturesque scenery and the historical heroes . Whether his description of the pure “marble tower and jade houses”, the description of the magnificent “strange rocks and surging waves” , or is sincere wishes for “sharing the moon one thousand miles apart”, all were filled with the poet’s stirring emotion and lofty , optimistic spirit.
In short , the sincere emotions , the distinct personality , the open , optimistic mind and the facile writing style of Su Shi all contributed to broadening the contents of Su lyrics . Some critics said , “with the appearance of Su Shi’s Song poems , the writers begin to brace up”. Some other critics said , “The Song poems of Su Shi are emotional and sincere like his person , and are a wonder of the world”.

