What does this difference tell us about their station in the social worlds of medieval India and Japan

1. Compare and contrast the poetic approach of Tang poets Li Bo and Du Fu. Who do you feel like is more fantastical in his approach, and who is more realisitc? How important is emotion to each poet?

2. Both the stories from Somadeva and Murasaki Shikubu have strong female characters. How do the women in the excerpts that we read from these two authors differentiate themselves from the men in how they think and act? What does this difference tell us about their station in the social worlds of medieval India and Japan?