Why wasn’t Li Bai one of the Eight Great Masters of Tang and Song dynasties

When it comes to Li Bai, everyone must be very familiar with him. After all, he was an ancient Chinese poet and made great contributions to the culture of ancient poetry. Otherwise, he would not have been called the “Poet Immortal” by later generations. But when it comes to the Eight Great Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties, Li Bai is surprisingly not among them. As a poet of a generation, why didn’t he become one of the “Eight Great Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties”? I believe everyone will have some questions about this issue. Let’s take a look with the editor below!
In fact, when it comes to the “Eight Masters of Tang and Song Dynasties”, it’s not that their poetry is particularly powerful. This title is given to those who write very good prose, so it’s normal for Li Bai not to be included in it. The eight selected by the Eight Great Masters of Tang and Song dynasties were all writers of classical Chinese, which is why there was no Li Bai. After all, Li Bai’s family is a ‘poetic immortal’! On the other hand, the ancient texts of the Eight Great Masters of the Tang and Song dynasties mainly expounded their own Confucian thoughts, which are completely different from Li Bai’s poetry. So, many people have always misunderstood this concept, which is why they are curious why Li Bai was not one of the Eight Great Masters of the Tang and Song dynasties.
The Eight Great Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties were elected in the early Ming Dynasty, including Liu Zongyuan and Han Yu from the Tang Dynasty, and Ouyang Xiu, Su Xun, Su Shi, Su Zhe, Wang Anshi, and Zeng Gong from the Song Dynasty. So when this title was given, it had already passed through the Tang and Song dynasties. During Li Bai’s time, he had already developed and promoted the culture of poetry, as his poetry has long been cherished in his heart. Many netizens still believe that Li Bai, Du Fu, and Bai Juyi did not make any contributions, but they are all completely wrong. Although none of them made it onto the list of the “Eight Great Poets of Tang and Song Dynasties”, it did not hinder the position of these three great poets in everyone’s hearts!