Listen to this articleshènɡ Tánɡ zhī yīn 盛唐之音
Poetry of the Prime Tang Dynasty
指唐玄宗开元（公元713—741年）、天宝（公元742—756年）年间的诗歌创作与艺术成就。与初唐、中唐、晚唐时期的诗歌相对应。这一时期是“安史之乱”前唐帝国的黄金时代，当时，社会稳定、政治清明、经济繁荣，南北文化融合，中外交通发达，这一切为“盛唐之音”营造了很好的社会氛围和文化基础。在唐诗初、盛、中、晚四个阶段中，盛唐最短，但艺术成就最为辉煌，被后人誉为“盛唐气象”。这一时期，不但出现了诗仙李白、诗圣杜甫，而且还出现了张说（yuè）、张若虚、张九龄、孟浩然、王维、高适、岑参（shēn）、王昌龄、王之涣、崔颢、李颀、王翰等一大批卓有成就的诗人。他们赞美山川，向往功业，抒发个人情志，记述社会现实，诗风豪迈浑厚、意境宏阔高远，语言清新天然，富有生命活力与进取精神，创造了中国古典诗歌的最高成就。就诗派而论，这一时期则有山水田园诗派、边塞诗派等。
This term refers to the poetic creation and achievements during the Kaiyuan(713–742) and Tianbao (742–756) reign periods of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, as compared with poetic writing in the early Tang, mid-Tang, and late Tang periods. This period, marked by good governance, prosperity, and stability, was a golden era for the great Tang empire before it was disrupted by the An Lushan and Shi Siming Rebellion. There was cultural infusion between the north and south, and travels to and from the outside world were frequent. All this made it possible for artistic creation to blossom. Of all the four periods of poetic creation, i.e., the early Tang, the prime Tang, the mid-Tang, and the late Tang, the prime Tang was the shortest, but its artistic attainment was most remarkable. This period produced legendary poet Li Bai and poetic genius Du Fu as well as a galaxy of outstanding poets such as Zhang Yue, Zhang Ruoxu, Zhang Jiuling, Meng Haoran, Wang Wei, Gao Shi, Cen Shen, Wang Changling, Wang Zhihuan, Cui Hao, Li Qi, and Wang Han. These poets extolled natural scenery, expressed noble aspirations, and depicted real life. Their writing style was both vigorous and unrestrained. They were broad in vision and were adept at using fresh, natural language, and their poems were full of power, vigor and an enterprising spirit. Their poems represented the highest attainment in classical Chinese poetry. This period also saw the thriving of the natural landscape school and the frontier school in poetry writing.
引例 Citations：
◎盛唐诸公之诗，如颜鲁公书，既笔力雄壮，又气象浑厚。（严羽《答出继叔临安吴景仙书》）
（盛唐诸多诗人的诗作，好比颜真卿的书法作品一样，笔力既雄壮感人，气象又质朴厚重。）
Works of many poets during the prime of the Tang Dynasty struck readers with their touching, powerful expression and simple yet dignified style, just like the calligraphy of Yan Zhenqing. (Yan Yu: Letter in Reply to Uncle Wu Jingxian in Lin’an)
◎盛唐气象浑成，神韵轩举。（胡应麟《诗薮》）
（盛唐时期的诗歌气象浑然一体、天然生成，其精神气韵也就自然昂扬飞举。）
Poetry in the prime of the Tang Dynasty is noted for being expressive, smooth and natural, creating a soaring and uplifting spirit. (Hu Yinglin: An In-depth Exploration of Poetry)
