Li Shi-min and Gongti Poetry

According to some critics,it was Li Shi-min who furthered the styles of poetry of Liang--Chen dynasties,created and advocated the genre of Gongti poetry in Parnassus in the early years of Tang dynasty.The present paper looks into two specific definitions of Gongti poetry as either the romantic passions poetry or as its altered form.On the base of such analysis,the paper argues against the theory that Li Shi-min's poetry belongs to the genre of Gongti poetry.It illustrates that Li Shi-min's poetry deviated from Liang--Chen dynasty styles of poetry,influenced the three-hundred-year literature of Tang dynasty,and hence featured the distinctive styles of poetry in Tang dynasty.