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Chapter 335 Poet Du Fu
Du Fu's life witnessed the decline of the Tang Dynasty.

There has never been a person in history like Du Fu, who was displaced and impoverished throughout his life but was concerned about the world and the people.

There has never been a poet in history like Du Fu, who was neglected throughout his life but became famous after his death.

He is a monument in the history of Tang poetry, and is called the Poet Sage by later generations. He stands at the highest level in the history of Chinese poetry together with Li Bai.

He gave his life to the country he loved deeply, and he used his pen to speak out for the people of the world.

Although he was not the one who pacified the war, he added supreme glory to that chaotic era.

People say that the underlying tone of Du Fu's life is miserable.

Although he suffered all kinds of hardships in life, he remained loyal to the emperor, loved his people, cared about the world, and had a pure heart.

A great poet of his generation, he lived a life of hardship and wandering, which made countless people who came after him feel sad for his poor life.

"Du Fu's courtesy name was Zimei, and he called himself Shaoling Ye Lao."

"Du Fu was born into a scholarly family in Henan. His grandfather Du Shenyan was a famous poet during the reign of Empress Wu Zetian."

"Du Shenyan was one of the Four Friends of Literature. Later, he was involved in the Zhang Yizhi incident and was implicated."

“Most of his poems are written in a simple and natural style, which laid a solid foundation for the development of modern poetry that is not influenced by meter.”

"Du Fu was also deeply influenced by his grandfather. He read poetry and books since he was a child and inherited the family tradition."

"Du Fu is also a descendant of the famous general Du Yu, who was a military strategist during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties."

"He was once Sima Zhao's staff member. He has outstanding military talents and is very resourceful."

"Both Du Mu and Du Fu were outstanding in both literary and military strategy. They were descendants of Du Yu, the prefect of Jingzhao."

"Du Fu's family environment was very privileged, his family tradition was also very good, and he often interacted with famous families."

"My mother, Cui, was also the daughter of a prominent family at the time, but Du Fu lost his mother at a young age and was mostly taught by his father and grandfather."

"Du Fu was very smart and studious when he was young. He could write poetry at the age of seven."

"Du Fu was influenced by many scholars and writers since he was a child, which was very helpful for his later development of poetry."

"When I was five or six years old, I heard that Gongsun Da Niang's sword dance was the best in the world and no one could match her."

"So Du Fu took his servants and went out to watch the sword dance."

"When Du Fu was 55 years old, he had been exiled and had experienced many setbacks in officialdom. He suddenly remembered watching Gongsun Da Niang's sword dance when he was young."

"That was during the Kaiyuan Period of the Tang Dynasty, and everything was prosperous."

"He wrote this poem: Once upon a time there was a beautiful lady named Gongsun, whose sword dance moved all four directions."

"Du Fu recalled the scene back then. Compared with now, it is totally different."

"He couldn't help but feel sad. The grand occasion was gone, leaving only the sad travelers."

"He also watched a singing and dancing performance at Prince Qi's residence. Among them was a famous singer named Li Guinian."

"Later, Du Fu also recalled his memories with Li Guinian in the poem 'Meeting Li Guinian in Jiangnan'. Both the first and second couplets of the poem express the feeling of remembrance."

"that was nice scenery at Jiang Nan, met you again in autumn."

"These are the second and third couplets of the poem, expressing the emotion of the decline of the country and the displacement of the people."

"Li Guinian and Du Fu were once close friends, and Li Guinian's experience was similar to mine."

"Li Guinian was not appreciated and ended up wandering around the world, and I was also not valued and lived in the world."

"Comparing the prosperous scene back then with today, I can't help but sigh that things are impermanent."

"His poems were already famous throughout the world at that time, and many poets were eager to associate with him."

Su Shi: The tragedy of Du Fu's life could be seen when he was a teenager.

Du Fu's life is regarded as a great life by many literati and poets, but it can also be called the tragic life of a corrupt scholar.

Du Fu was born into an old bureaucratic family, and both his parents were from prominent families.

Unfortunately, Du Fu, who could reincarnate, could not escape the trick of fate.

When Du Fu was two years old, his mother Cui died of illness.

The father quickly remarried and had a child.

With a stepmother, there will also be a stepfather.

After his stepmother came into the family, Du Fu's life became difficult.

Little Du Fu was very sensitive and began to feel that he was redundant in this family.

The thoughtful aunt felt very distressed when she saw this, and was even unsure whether Du Fu could grow up successfully if he continued to live with his stepmother.

After much deliberation, the aunt took Du Fu, who had lost his mother, to her home in Luoyang to raise him.

His aunt took pity on Du Fu because he lost his mother at a young age and was frail and sickly, so she always took extra care of him and treated him better than her own son.

In the epitaph for his aunt, Du Fu talked about how good his aunt was to him.

When Du Fu was at his aunt's house, he and his aunt's son suffered from the same disease. According to a Taoist priest, placing the child in the southeast corner next to the hall would be good for the child's illness.

In order to save Du Fu, the aunt actually switched Du Fu's position with her son.

As a result, Du Fu survived, but his cousin died of illness.

The person Du Fu was most grateful to in his life was his aunt. Not only did he write her epitaph himself after her death, he also insisted on mourning for her for three years.

His aunt's love was a good thing for Du Fu, but it also brought him a lifetime of guilt.

When he grew up, Du Fu always felt that his life was exchanged for his aunt's son's life.

Therefore, whenever Du Fu thought of his aunt, he felt full of guilt.

To a certain extent, Du Fu's aunt made up for the missing maternal love, but living in her house was like living under someone else's roof after all, and the suffering he went through during that time was beyond the imagination of ordinary people.

In such an environment, Du Fu's character became more sensitive.

Sensitivity is a characteristic of intellectuals, but it can also easily lead to depression.

The special family environment made Du Fu both inferior and arrogant.

It was these experiences in his youth that had a great influence on Du Fu's later life.

"Du Fu also traveled to many places in his early years. He roamed around when he was a teenager and had the ambition to serve the country since he was a child."

"After traveling for several years, he took the imperial examination but failed."

"Later, Du Fu still did not give up his desire to see the mountains and rivers of the Tang Dynasty. He wandered around, observed carefully, and painted beautiful blueprints one after another."

"That year, he wrote a poem called 'Viewing the Mountain' which will go down in history."

"At that time, he stood on the top of the mountain, looking at the beautiful scenery at the foot of the mountain, and his ambitions surged in his heart."

"At that time, Du Fu was still a young man full of youthful energy, and he placed all his aspirations and ambitions in this poem."

"It can be seen that in his early years, Du Fu was not an unemployed vagrant who only cared about traveling around the world."

“I want to stand on the top of the mountain, at the highest point, and see a more magnificent view.”

"It turns out that Du Fu has both the ambition and the ability to do so."

"It's just that his life was too miserable, and it was this misery that created Du Fu's melancholy and frustrated style of poetry."

"Du Fu once again took part in the imperial examination held by the Hanlin Academy in order to fulfill his early wish."

"But bad luck struck Du Fu when he went to Chang'an to take the exam."

"Prime Minister Li Linfu's power is at its peak."

"Li Linfu came from a very prominent family and had a smooth career, with almost constant promotions."

"He replaced Zhang Jiuling as prime minister, and was later granted the title of Duke of Jin."

"Li Linfu was very powerful and served as prime minister for 19 years."

"But since Li Linfu took office, he has been cultivating his own power and eliminating dissidents."

"In the later period, Li Linfu held all the power, excluded wise officials and talents, and instead promoted treacherous officials such as An Lushan."

"Li Linfu's power was so great that the talent pool of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty dwindled in the later period."

"When Du Fu took the exam, Li Linfu was jealous of talented people, so all the students who would take the imperial examination in the future failed, including Du Fu."

"Du Fu was immediately depressed. He worked so hard and spent ten years studying but no one cared about him, yet he could not get his name on the imperial examination."

"Du Fu was very depressed during this period and stayed in Chang'an for ten years."

"For the past ten years, he has been running around, seeking help from the powerful, but no one cares about him."

"His own life is also very unstable, and even food and clothing are a problem."

"During this period, he was very depressed and trapped in Chang'an."

"He found that neither currying favor with the rich and powerful nor taking the imperial examinations could help him realize his life ideals, and he became very depressed."

"Du Fu still did not give up. In the ninth year of Tianbao, he presented his poems to Emperor Xuanzong of Tang."

"After reading it, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang felt that Du Fu was a man of great potential and wanted to entrust him with important tasks."

"But the officialdom is full of intrigues. How can Li Linfu swallow this breath? How can he allow others to snore beside his bed?"

"So Li Linfu designed a play, and Du Fu was still not reused."

"In the 14th year of Tianbao, Du Fu was granted a minor official title of Hexi Wei by Li Linfu." "But Du Fu felt that granting him this official title was an insult to him, so he was unwilling to bow down for the sake of that little bit of rice."

"The court then changed Du Fu's position to that of a military officer, which was also a minor official position."

"Du Fu also mentioned in his poems that he had served as a military officer. In fact, these official positions were just nominal positions."

"Du Fu was already 44 years old at the time. After more than 10 years in Chang'an, he gradually learned to accept reality."

"My original determination to not give in to others for a living has only led to my family being plunged into poverty and the difficulty of having enough food and clothing."

"Because Du Fu's official position was basically a nominal one, and the court mostly flattered the powerful and trampled on the weak."

"The monthly salary Du Fu received was pitifully small, and even the food and clothing of his family became a serious problem."

"That year, Du Fu's youngest son starved to death at home."

"Du Fu wrote a famous poem about this, 'The Stone-Haul Officer', which is very heartbreaking."

Wang Anshi: Du Fu's encounter with Li Bai during his time in Chang'an can be regarded as a great encounter in the history of Chinese literature.

The actual interactions between Du Fu and Li Bai were very limited, but very meaningful.

The time that Du Fu and Li Bai actually spent together was concentrated during the Tianbao period.

Du Fu accompanied Li Bai across the Yellow River to Wangwu Mountain to visit a Taoist master.

In the autumn, they went to Songzhou together to visit the great poet Gao Shi and drank on stage.

In the autumn of the following year, the two met again in Yanzhou.

After the meeting in Yanzhou, the two never met again, but Du Fu often wrote poems to express his longing for her.

After the Anshi Rebellion broke out, Li Bai was involved in Prince Yong's military operations and was imprisoned.

Du Fu was so worried that he dreamed of Li Bai for several nights in a row and wrote a poem to commemorate him.

To some extent, Li Bai is a reference to Du Fu's spiritual world, or even a projection of Du Fu's other self.

When Du Fu wrote in his poem that the capital is full of dignitaries, but this person is alone and haggard, it seems that he was talking more about himself.

For Du Fu, Li Bai appeared when he was most confused.

Under the secular pressure of seeking fame, wealth and power, Du Fu saw a kind of free and easy life.

Since ancient times, many top figures in the same field have difficulty meeting each other in their lifetime.

Only Li Bai and Du Fu lived in the same era and they met each other.

The meeting between Du Fu and Li Bai was the most exciting moment in literary history.

This is the meeting of the sun and the stars, perhaps only the meeting of Lao Tzu and Confucius can be compared to it.

Li Bai had the political ambition to save the people and stabilize the country, which coincided with Du Fu's life ideal, so they hit it off at first sight.

Li Bai's noble character of clearly distinguishing between love and hate and his emphasis on chivalry and righteousness deeply inspired Du Fu.

What ultimately made them connect with each other and keep them connected was their discussion of poetry.

Perhaps everyone needs an idol in his life, someone to worship and look up to.

Du Fu was lucky, he met his idol Li Bai.

And his idol completely accepted him and loved him sincerely.

Because of my admiration for my idol, I miss him.

I write poetry because I miss you.

Throughout his life, Du Fu wrote a total of fifteen poems for Li Bai.

I wonder if Li Bai had expected when he first met Du Fu that this young man, with whom he got along so well, would one day become as famous as himself in the poetry world.

There is no doubt that after Du Fu and Li Bai met.

Li Bai's affirmation and appreciation of Du Fu gave Du Fu great confidence and strength to continue writing poetry.

"In Du Fu's later years, the An-Shi Rebellion broke out, and people were in panic. Emperor Xuanzong of Tang chose to flee."

"In this year, Crown Prince Li Heng ascended the throne and became Emperor Suzong of Tang. Du Fu was also seeking refuge at this time."

"Du Fu heard that Emperor Suzong of Tang had ascended the throne and the country was in crisis, so he wanted to do his part for the country."

"However, on the way, Du Fu was captured by the rebels and taken to Chang'an."

"The rebels didn't take Du Fu seriously, but Du Fu was always concerned about the country and the people."

"During this period, he wrote two articles written with blood and tears, each word was a gem."

"The article expressed his loyalty to his country and his concern for the country and the people, but he still felt that his talent was not appreciated."

"When the country was in crisis, Du Fu still did not give up serving the country."

"At this time, he secretly escaped and wanted to seek refuge with Emperor Suzong of Tang."

"Du Fu was still not valued and was given the title of Zuo Shiyi."

"This was the beginning of his service to the country and the realization of his ambitions, but he was unexpectedly demoted not long after."

"Du Fu was very depressed after being demoted. He was already old and had seen the fickleness of the world."

"Because Du Fu interceded for someone, Emperor Suzong of Tang ordered that Du Fu would never be employed again in his lifetime."

"During one of the wars during the An-Shi Rebellion, Du Fu witnessed the physical and mental damage that the war caused to the people."

"He was so worried that he wrote the Three Officials and Three Farewells, which were praised by later generations. They reflected the sufferings of the people at that time and their miserable lives."

"It was a time of war and heavy taxes. Young and strong men were forced to do forced labor, leaving their wives and children alone."

"After experiencing the ups and downs of life, Du Fu no longer had any illusions about the court."

"I no longer have the extravagant hope that I can save the people from disaster by serving as an official."

"He was disgusted by the intrigues and deceptions in the political career."

"His mood was no longer as excited as when he stood on the top of the mountain. He was left with helplessness and regret."

"So he resigned from his official position and, with the help and support of his friends, came to Chengdu and built a thatched cottage, which is known in history as Du Fu Thatched Cottage."

"Later, friends kept recommending Du Fu for official positions."

"Du Fu also held many official positions during this period, but they were all relatively minor."

"Du Fu resigned several times and led an extremely difficult life."

"That year, Du Fu wanted to return home, so he took a boat and traveled far away, but it happened to be a time of great chaos."

"Du Fu wanted to seek refuge with his relatives, but there was a flood and he was so hungry that he hadn't eaten for several days."

"Later, a noble man came to our rescue, but the flood still did not recede."

"Later, Du Fu died on his way back home at the age of 59."

"Du Fu was concerned about his country and his people all his life. He had a noble character, but his talent was not appreciated."

“It is said that art originates from life, but is also higher than life.”

"Du Fu's life was also very difficult and rough, and it was his bitter past that created his tragic and melancholy style of poetry."

"The poems of his later years highlighted his tragic experiences, so the style of his poems is mostly gloomy and depressed."

"Du Fu's poems are also known as poetic history, which reflects the process of the Tang Dynasty's decline from prosperity."

Zhu Di: There is a lot of controversy about the cause of Du Fu's death, but the real cause of death should be illness.

There are different opinions about the cause of Du Fu's death. Some say he died from drinking too much, some said he ate too much, some said he fell into the water and drowned, and some said he died from food poisoning.

But the real cause of Du Fu's death had already been clearly stated in his poem "Climbing the High Mountain".

The endless fallen leaves are rustling down, the endless Yangtze River is rolling in, I am a guest in the sad autumn thousands of miles away, and I am alone on the stage after a hundred years of illness.

The phrase "being ill for a hundred years" here is Du Fu's way of describing his own illness, and he has mentioned his illness many times in other poems.

The reason why Du Fu died of illness may be related to the tragic experiences in his life.

The Tang Dynasty attached great importance to imperial examinations, and scholars often studied at night for their careers.

Du Fu also often read until late at night. Long-term night reading will not only affect eyesight, but also physical health.

The Tang people loved drinking, and Du Fu's good friend Li Bai was a wine jar.

The poets of the Tang Dynasty drank and hardly ate, and only played games such as drinking games to entertain themselves.

Drinking on an empty stomach for a long time like this can cause great harm to your body.

How much Du Fu loved wine can be seen from his poems.

During his youth and middle age, Du Fu suffered from long-term hunger due to economic hardship, which would inevitably leave him with chronic illness.

After Du Fu learned that he had contracted a chronic illness, he refused to seek medical treatment and instead insisted on drinking and having fun.

As a result, his condition gradually worsened until it was out of control.

It is worth mentioning that when Du Fu died.

The Tang Dynasty was finally no longer in turmoil, and the people he cared about finally lived a stable life again.

I think Du Fu must have closed his eyes when he died.

(End of this chapter)