This is the second and final part of a contribution based on a presentation given at The Digital Orientalist’s Virtual Conference 2025 (AI and the Digital Humanities) by Ziyi Qin (Beijing Foreign Studies University). *The recording of the presentation can be found here. *

Part 1 of the contribution explores data and methods. Part 2 explores the findings.

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3. Findings and Discussions

3.1 Spatial and Temporal Distribution of Sentiments

3.1.1 Spatial Distribution of Sentiments

Locations with more than 30 instances of both positive and negative sentiment words are selected for analysis. The results are shown in the sentiment distribution maps (Figures 2 and 3).

Figure 2. Spatial distribution of sentiments in Yuan Zhen’s Poetry.

Figure 3. Spatial distribution of sentiments in Bai Juyi’s Poetry.

As shown in the maps, Yuan Zhen’s sentiment expression was generally more negative. Except for Yuezhou 越州, negative sentiments predominated in all recorded locations. In contrast, Bai Juyi’s sentiment distribution was more balanced. Positive sentiments clearly exceeded negative ones only in Luoyang 洛陽, while in other locations, they were roughly comparable.

Luoyang was an important place in the lives of both poets, yet their sentimental expressions there were markedly different.

For Yuan Zhen, Luoyang was his first “land of sorrow”, where negative sentiments comprised 65.35% of his total emotional expression. This is likely to be related to a series of personal misfortunes. In 806, he arrived in Luoyang upon learning of the death of his mother, Lady Zheng 鄭氏. In 809, after repeatedly offending powerful figures, he was relegated to Luoyang in June. On July 9 that year, his wife Wei Cong 韋叢 died in Luoyang.

Conversely, 62.75% of Bai Juyi’s sentiments in Luoyang were positive, greatly exceeding the negative ones. Luoyang became his main place of residence in his later years, where he finally realized his ideal of middle seclusion 中隱—a life free from excessive duties while maintaining a steady official salary. His works from this period conveyed a prevailing sense of inner peace and satisfaction.

Both poets experienced relegation, but responded differently.

For Yuan Zhen, the relegation to Jiangling 江陵 in 810 represented a major setback in his life. Nevertheless, his negative sentiments there were moderate, accounting for 51.87% of his total sentiments. This may be because he was still in the early stage of his career and retained hope for a political comeback, which helped temper his emotional distress.

By 815, however, when he was demoted again to Tongzhou 通州, his emotion became notably darker, with negative sentiments reaching 57.46%. This was partly the result of repeated demotions and partly due to prolonged illness. Later that year, at the end of September, when he went to Xingyuan 興元 for medical treatment, the proportion of negative sentiments rose further to 63.82%.

Bai Juyi, facing similar political setbacks, demonstrated greater emotional resilience. Even at the lowest point of his career in Jiangzhou 江州, negative sentiments constituted only 52.37%. In Zhongzhou 忠州, still under demotion, his positive and negative sentiments were balanced. This resilience may be attributed both to his solace in natural scenery and to his philosophical acceptance of life’s alternating fortunes and hardships. Through such self-adjustment, he gradually attained inner peace in the later years of his demotion.

Shang (1991, 90–95) classified the mental states of the five major relegated poets of the Yuanhe 元和 era into three categories: fading distress, prolonged distress, and sublimated distress. Yuan Zhen exemplifies the first type, as his emotional suffering gradually diminished over time. Bai Juyi represents the third type, transforming his pain into renewed spiritual strength. Statistical analysis supports this classification, revealing distinct psychological patterns through which the two poets responded to relegation.

Notably, although both poets enjoyed relatively successful careers in Chang’an 長安, the proportion of positive sentiments in their poems remained relatively low—46.48% for Yuan Zhen and 47.93% for Bai Juyi. This indicates that emotional expression in poetry is not simply determined by official achievement. For instance, Yuan Zhen’s most positive sentiments appeared during his stay in Yuezhou, when Bai Juyi was serving nearby in Hangzhou 杭州. Their frequent exchange of poems may have brought him genuine delight. For Bai Juyi, the highest proportion of positive sentiments occurred in Luoyang, reflecting the serenity and contentment of his later years.

3.1.2 Temporal Variation of Sentiments

Figures 4 and 5 illustrate the temporal variation of sentiments. Bars represent the proportions of positive and negative sentiments in each period, while lines indicate their respective frequencies. The results closely correspond with the location-based analysis.

Figure 4. Temporal variation of sentiments in Yuan Zhen’s poetry.

Figure 5. Temporal variation of sentiments in Bai Juyi’s poetry.

Yuan Zhen’s overall sentiment remained predominantly negative throughout his life. From period t0 to t3, the proportion of positive sentiments declined gradually with occasional fluctuations, reaching its lowest point in t4 before a notable recovery in t5. Notably, during t4, despite being favored by Emperor Muzong 穆宗 and promoted to higher office, Yuan Zhen’s emotional state was far from positive. Two major factors may account for this: first, the death of his son Yuan Jing 元荆 in the summer of 821; second, he was unjustly impeached by Pei Du 裴度 in October of the same year and dismissed from his post as Hanlin Academician Recipient of Edicts 翰林承旨學士.

In contrast, Bai Juyi’s positive sentiments exhibited a steady upward trend over time. Initially, they were lower than his negative sentiments, and began to surpass them from period T6 onward. This shift, marking a transformation in his outlook, provides empirical support for Zhang’s (1996, 83–88) argument that Bai Juyi’s state of mind changed after 822.

Overall, the data reveal a clear divergence between the two poets. Yuan Zhen’s emotional condition grew increasingly fragile, showing signs of recovery in his later years, whereas Bai Juyi experienced a gradual rise toward emotional stability and positivity. This divergence reflects their fundamentally different attitudes toward official life: Yuan Zhen remained deeply entangled in political frustrations, while Bai Juyi gradually disengaged from worldly ambition in pursuit of inner peace and personal fulfillment. Their contrasting emotional trajectories thus illuminate profound differences in personalities and life philosophies.

3.2 Relationship between Sentiment and Imagery

Based on word frequency data, the top 20 imagery words are extracted separately for Yuan Zhen and Bai Juyi. At the sentence level, co-occurrence frequencies between imagery words and sentiment subcategories are calculated, with categories showing zero counts excluded. The remaining data are log-transformed and visualized as sentiment–imagery heatmaps (Figures 6 and 7).

Figure 6. Sentiment–Imagery associations in Yuan Zhen’s poetry.

Figure 7. Sentiment–Imagery associations in Bai Juyi’s poetry.

Overall, both poets exhibited a strong concentration of Sorrow & Loneliness. However, Bai Juyi’s poems displayed a higher density of positive sentiments in the lower section of the heatmap, indicating a broader and more consistent expression of positive sentiments than Yuan Zhen.

The following is the analysis of some key images in their works.

3.2.1 Spring 春

In Bai Juyi’s poetry, spring embodied both positive and negative sentiments, whereas in Yuan Zhen’s works it predominantly conveyed negative ones. Bai Juyi also frequently employed spring to express Longing & Reflection, a function far less common in Yuan Zhen’s works.

3.2.2 Heaven 天

In Yuan Zhen’s works, heaven was primarily associated with positive sentiments such as Love, Gratitude & Wish. In Bai Juyi’s poems, however, it was also commonly connected with negative sentiments such as Sorrow & Loneliness, suggesting that the emotional connotations of heaven were more complex and multifaceted in his writing.

3.2.3 Alcohol 酒

In the poetry of both poets, alcohol carried both positive and negative sentiments, though in Bai Juyi’s poetry it distinctly leaned more toward the positive. Moreover, Bai Juyi connected alcohol not only with Love, Gratitude & Wish, but also with Joy & Satisfaction and Ease, reflecting his appreciation of drinking and the sense of relaxation and pleasure it brought him.

3.2.4 Wind 風

In the works of both poets, wind was most frequently associated with Sorrow & Loneliness. Yuan Zhen, however, also employed it to convey Arrogance & Madness. Fierce winds 狂風, hurricane 颶風 and tempests 顛風 often appeared in Yuan Zhen’s poetry but were rare in Bai Juyi’s works.

3.2.5 Sound 聲

In both poets’ works, sound primarily expressed Sorrow & Loneliness. In Yuan Zhen’s poems, it also consistently conveyed Dislike, Anger & Blame, often articulated indirectly through natural or musical sound. This pattern was seldom observed in Bai Juyi’s poetry.

3.2.6 Official Position 官

The image of official position appeared prominently in Bai Juyi’s poetry and was most closely linked with Ease. It frequently co-occurred with the term “leisure 閑”, revealing his pursuit of middle seclusion.

4. Conclusions and Implications

In conclusion, this study demonstrates two key patterns in sentiment expressions of classical Chinese poetry. First, poetic sentiment evolves dynamically across time and space, shaped by personal experience, cultural background, and individual personality. Second, poetic imagery conveys rich emotional associations that vary across poets, reflecting distinct aesthetic tendencies.

By combining computational analysis with literary interpretations, this study provides a fine-grained perspective on sentiments in classical Chinese poetry. It deepens our understanding of Yuan Zhen’s and Bai Juyi’s emotional worlds and establishes a scalable framework for examining sentiments and stylistic patterns in premodern Chinese literature.

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References

Shang Yongliang 尚永亮. “Lun Yuanhe bianzhe shiren de houqi xintai 论元和贬谪诗人的后期心态 [On the later mentality of the relegated poets in the Yuanhe period].” Wen shi zhe 文史哲 3 (1991): 90–95. https://doi.org/10.16346/j.cnki.37-1101/c.1991.03.017.

Zhang Anzu 张安祖. “Lun Bai Juyi de sixiang chuangzuo fenqi 论白居易的思想创作分期 [On the periodization of Bai Juyi’s thought and creative works].” Qiu shi xuekan 求是学刊 1 (1996): 83–88. CNKI 中国知网.

Zhang Wei, Wang Hao, Song Min, Deng Sanhong. “A Method of Constructing a Fine-Grained Sentiment Lexicon for the Humanities Computing of Classical Chinese Poetry.” Neural Computing and Applications 35, no.3 (2022): 2325–2346. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00521-022-07690-8.