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Flower Across Time and Media: Sentiment Analysis of Tang Song Poetry and Visual Correspondence

Shuai Gong, Tiange Zhou

TL;DR

The study investigates how evolving floral symbolism in Tang–Song poetry correlates with contemporaneous visual culture by applying a fine-tuned Chinese BERT model to quantify sentiment in peony and plum imagery. The authors analyze 100 poems (50 Tang, 50 Song) and validate textual patterns against decorative arts such as textiles and ceramics, revealing a shift from Tang-era exuberance to Song-era melancholy across media. They identify a robust cross-media signal, including a strong negative link between peony Joy and plum Sadness, and demonstrate how gender and historical upheavals modulate affective trajectories. This work provides a replicable hybrid framework that bridges computational text analysis and art history, offering empirical insight into cultural transmission and aesthetic evolution across dynastic China.

Abstract

The Tang (618 to 907) and Song (960 to 1279) dynasties witnessed an extraordinary flourishing of Chinese cultural expression, where floral motifs served as a dynamic medium for both poetic sentiment and artistic design. While previous scholarship has examined these domains independently, the systematic correlation between evolving literary emotions and visual culture remains underexplored. This study addresses that gap by employing BERT-based sentiment analysis to quantify emotional patterns in floral imagery across Tang Song poetry, then validating these patterns against contemporaneous developments in decorative arts.Our approach builds upon recent advances in computational humanities while remaining grounded in traditional sinological methods. By applying a fine tuned BERT model to analyze peony and plum blossom imagery in classical poetry, we detect measurable shifts in emotional connotations between the Tang and Song periods. These textual patterns are then cross berenced with visual evidence from textiles, ceramics, and other material culture, revealing previously unrecognized synergies between literary expression and artistic representation.

Flower Across Time and Media: Sentiment Analysis of Tang Song Poetry and Visual Correspondence

TL;DR

The study investigates how evolving floral symbolism in Tang–Song poetry correlates with contemporaneous visual culture by applying a fine-tuned Chinese BERT model to quantify sentiment in peony and plum imagery. The authors analyze 100 poems (50 Tang, 50 Song) and validate textual patterns against decorative arts such as textiles and ceramics, revealing a shift from Tang-era exuberance to Song-era melancholy across media. They identify a robust cross-media signal, including a strong negative link between peony Joy and plum Sadness, and demonstrate how gender and historical upheavals modulate affective trajectories. This work provides a replicable hybrid framework that bridges computational text analysis and art history, offering empirical insight into cultural transmission and aesthetic evolution across dynastic China.

Abstract

The Tang (618 to 907) and Song (960 to 1279) dynasties witnessed an extraordinary flourishing of Chinese cultural expression, where floral motifs served as a dynamic medium for both poetic sentiment and artistic design. While previous scholarship has examined these domains independently, the systematic correlation between evolving literary emotions and visual culture remains underexplored. This study addresses that gap by employing BERT-based sentiment analysis to quantify emotional patterns in floral imagery across Tang Song poetry, then validating these patterns against contemporaneous developments in decorative arts.Our approach builds upon recent advances in computational humanities while remaining grounded in traditional sinological methods. By applying a fine tuned BERT model to analyze peony and plum blossom imagery in classical poetry, we detect measurable shifts in emotional connotations between the Tang and Song periods. These textual patterns are then cross berenced with visual evidence from textiles, ceramics, and other material culture, revealing previously unrecognized synergies between literary expression and artistic representation.
Paper Structure (8 sections, 9 figures)

This paper contains 8 sections, 9 figures.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Related Works
  3. Methodology
  4. Dataset and Sampling Rationale
  5. BERT Emotion Taxonomy and Cultural Relevance
  6. Analytical Process and Findings in Sentimental Study
  7. Visual Correlatives in Paintings
  8. Conclusion

Figures (9)

  • Figure 1: Full Emotional Trends In Tang Dynasty Poetry
  • Figure 2: Full Emotional Trends In Song Dynasty Poetry
  • Figure 3: Su Shi and Jiang Kui's Comparison
  • Figure 4: Li Qingzhao(Female Poet) and Other Male Song Poets Comparison
  • Figure 5: Wang Anshi and Lu You Comparison
  • ...and 4 more figures