Personal Library -- Du Fu

Author: Tang Du Fu, compiled by Deng Kuiying
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2004-07-01
Features: Du Fu (712–770), a Tang Dynasty poet. His courtesy name was Zimei. His ancestral home was Xiangyang (now belongs to Hubei), and he was born in Gongxian, Henan. Because he once lived near Shaoling in the southern suburbs of Chang'an, he called himself Shaoling Ye lao. In Chengdu, he was recommended as a deputy director of the military affairs and an acting assistant director of the Ministry of Works, and was later known as Du Shaoling and Du Gongbu in later generations. Du Fu grew up in a family that followed Confucianism and had a literary tradition. His grandfather, Du Shenyan, was a famous poet during Wu Zetian's reign and served as an assistant director of the Ministry of Food and Clothing. His father, Du Xian, once served as a magistrate of Yunzhou and a magistrate of Fengtian County. At the age of seven, Du Fu began to study poetry, and by the age of fifteen, his poems had attracted the attention of famous scholars in Luoyang. From the 19th year of Emperor Xuanzong's Kaiyuan era (731) to the fourth year of the Tianbao era (745), Du Fu embarked on two long tours. The first was in the Jiangnan region, returning to Luoyang in the 23rd year of Kaiyuan to take the imperial examination for scholars, but was not admitted. The following year, he began his second tour in the Qizhao region. In the 29th year of Kaiyuan, he settled in Shouyang Mountain between Luoyang and Yan Shi, possibly marrying his wife, Yang, around this time. In the third year of Tianbao, he met Li Bai in Luoyang and formed a deep friendship. The following autumn, Du Fu headed west to Chang'an, while Li Bai prepared to revisit Jiangdong. They parted in Yanzhou and never met again, leading Du Fu to write many touching poems in memory of Li Bai. From the fifth year to the 14th year of Tianbao, Du Fu lived in Chang'an for ten years, during which his life, thoughts, and creative work underwent significant changes. His purpose in going to Chang'an was to seek an official position and make contributions. In the sixth year of Tianbao, Emperor Xuanzong decreed that those skilled in literature and art be summoned to the capital for selection. Du Fu participated in this examination but was blocked by the conspiracy of Li Linfu, the director of the Secretariat, who was known for his "sweet words and sharp actions," leaving no candidate selected. In the tenth year of Tianbao, Emperor Xuanzong held three grand ceremonies to worship the "Emperor Xuan Yuan" Laozi, the Grand Ancestral Temple, and Heaven and Earth. Du Fu wrote three "Great Rites Odes" and submitted them, earning the praise of Emperor Xuanzong, who ordered the prime minister to examine his writings, but nothing came of it. He continuously wrote poems to influential figures, hoping for their recommendation, but all efforts were in vain. Later, he obtained the position of Assistant Director of the Right Guard, which marked the later stage of his time in Chang'an, just before the An Lushan Rebellion. In his later years, Emperor Xuanzong completely abandoned the virtuous governance of the Kaiyuan era, allowing ministers to engage in corruption and border generals to wage war recklessly, while he indulged in pleasure in the palace. In the winter of the 14th year of Tianbao, Du Fu visited his wife, who was staying in Fengxian, writing "A Poem on the Journey from Chang'an to Fengxian in Five Hundred Characters," a summary of his ten years in Chang'an and also a reflection on the decline of the Tang Dynasty's prosperity. After An Lushan rebelled, he quickly advanced south, capturing Luoyang and Chang'an. Upon hearing that Emperor Xuanzong had fled to western Sichuan and that Emperor Shaozong had ascended the throne in Lingwu, Du Fu left his family in Qiangcun in the north and headed north to join Emperor Shaozong, only to be captured by rebels and sent to Chang'an. In the fourth month of the second year of the Zhide era (757), Du Fu risked his life to escape Chang'an and travel to Fengxiang, the temporary capital of Emperor Shaozong, where he was appointed as a Left Assistant Director. Soon after, he offended Emperor Shaozong for defending Fang Jing, leading to his interrogation. In the eighth month, he returned to Xianzhou to visit his wife and completed the long poem "A Journey North," which was as remarkable as "A Poem on the Journey from Chang'an to Fengxian in Five Hundred Characters." In the ninth month of that year, the Tang army recaptured Chang'an, and in October, it recaptured Luoyang. Emperor Shaozong returned to the capital in late October, and Du Fu returned to Chang'an, still serving as a Left Assistant Director. In the fifth month of the following year, influenced by the struggle between Emperor Shaozong's new courtiers and Emperor Xuanzong's old officials, Du Fu was transferred to the position of Assistant Director of Military Affairs in Huazhou, marking his permanent farewell to Chang'an. From the first year of Shaozong's Shangyuan era (760) to the fifth year of Daizong's Dali era (770), Du Fu spent eight years in Sichuan and three years in Jing and Xiang. During his time in Kuizhou, he described himself as "wandering between the heavens and the earth in southwestern China" ("A Poem on the Ruins of Ancient Sites"), but in reality, he lived in Chengdu for five years, which was relatively stable. In the spring of the first year of Shangyuan, he built a cottage by the Xianhua Creek in the west of Chengdu, ending his four years of wandering and finding a place to live. In the late year of Shangyuan, Yan Wu came to Chengdu as the prefect of Chengdu and the assistant director of the Censorate, who provided Du Fu with much help. In the seventh month of the first year of Baoying in Daizong's reign (762), Yan Wu was summoned to the capital, and Xu Zhidao, the deputy prefect of Chengdu and the assistant director of the Censorate, rebelled in Chengdu, forcing Du Fu to flee to Zizhou and Langzhou. In the spring of the second year of Guangde (764), Yan Wu was appointed as the prefect of Chengdu and the commander of the Southern Circuit, and Du Fu returned to Chengdu in March. Yan Wu recommended Du Fu as a deputy director of military affairs and an acting assistant director of the Ministry of Works. In the fourth month of the first year of Yongtai (765), Yan Wu suddenly died, leaving Du Fu without support. In the fifth month, he had to lead his family out of the cottage and sail eastward. "Five years in Sichuan, one year in Zizhou" ("Leaving Sichuan"), marked the end of the first half of Du Fu's "wandering in southwestern China." In the ninth month, he arrived in Yun'an but could not continue due to illness. Only in the late spring of the following year did his condition improve, allowing him to move to Kuizhou. Due to the harsh climate and lack of friends in Kuizhou, Du Fu set out from the first month of the third year of Dali (768). In the third month, he arrived in Jiangling. He had planned to return north to Luoyang but was blocked by the chaos in Henan and the disruption of transportation. After staying in Jiangling for half a year, he moved to Gong'an for a few months and arrived in Yueyang by the end of the year. The last two years of Du Fu's life (770–770) were spent without a fixed residence, traveling between Yueyang, Changsha, Hengzhou, and Leiyang, with most of his time spent on boats. In the winter of the fourth and fifth years of Dali, he died on a boat on the Xiang River between Changsha and Yueyang, at the age of 59. After Du Fu's death, his coffin was temporarily placed in Yueyang. It was not until 43 years later, in the eighth year of Emperor Xianzong's Yuanhe era (813), that his grandson Du Siye moved it to Shouyang Mountain in Henan. Du Fu greatly expanded the scope of poetry in both content and form. The forms of Du Fu's poetry were diverse. He was skilled in all poetic forms and developed each to new heights. During his lifetime, his poems were not highly regarded, but 40 years after his death, they were recognized by Han Yu, Bai Juyi, and Yuan Shen. Famous Song Dynasty poets such as Wang Anshi, Su Shi, Huang Tingjian, and Lu You all highly praised Du Fu, inheriting his tradition from different perspectives in their own poetry. The "Old Book of Tang" and the "Arts and Literature Catalogue of the New Book of Tang" both stated that Du Fu's collected poems had 60 volumes, but they had long been lost. In the second year of Baoyuan (1039), Wang Zhu, a Northern Song scholar, compiled the old imperial collection and various incomplete editions of Du Fu's works, removing duplicates to obtain 1,405 poems, which he organized into 18 volumes. He also included 29 additional essays and poems as 2 volumes, totaling 20 volumes, titled "The Collected Works of Du Gongbu." In the fourth year of Jiajing (1059), Wang Qi recompiled and edited the collection. Subsequent editions of Du Fu's works were all based on this collection, with the number of poems gradually increasing. The collection is organized into ancient-style and regulated-style poems, and there are existing photocopied editions. In the eighth year of Chunxi (1181), Guo Zhida's "Collected Annotations of Du Fu's Poems by Nine Scholars" was similarly organized by poetic form. The Harvard-Yenching Institute's "Du Fu Concordance" (1940) was based on this collection. In the 23rd year of Shaoxing (1153), Lu Xian compiled Du Fu's poems chronologically, and in the fourth year of Jiatai (1204), Cai Mengbi added annotations, titled "The Cottage Poems of Du Gongbu," which is available in photocopied form. Xu Juren compiled "The Collected Annotations of Du Gongbu's Poems by Category," included in the Commercial Press's "Four Treasuries Collation." These four are now easily accessible Song Dynasty editions of Du Fu's works, organized by poetic form, chronology, and category. There are over 100 annotated editions of Du Fu's works in later generations. Some of the more popular ones include Qian Qianyi's "Annotations of the Collected Works of Du Gongbu," organized by poetic form, which provides detailed historical research. Qiu Zhaoao's "Detailed Annotations of Du Fu's Poems" (also known as "Detailed Annotations of Du Shaoling's Collected Works"), which compiles the research of previous scholars but sometimes goes too far in interpretation. Yang Lun's "Mirror and Selection of Du Fu's Poems" is more concise and accessible for beginners. Both "Detailed Annotations of Du Fu's Poems" and "Mirror and Selection of Du Fu's Poems" are chronological. Pu Qilong's "Heart's Understanding in Reading Du Fu" is organized by poetic form, offering many original insights, and includes "A Chronological Catalog of Du Fu's Poems." However, the analysis of verses sometimes uses the method of evaluating eight-legged essays. The "Old Book of Tang" and the "New Book of Tang" both have biographies of Du Fu. Since the Song Dynasty, there has been a wealth of literary notes and commentaries on Du Fu's poems. In 1964, Zhonghua Book Company compiled "A Collection of Research Materials on Classical Literature: Du Fu," which gathered annotations and interpretations of Du Fu from various eras, though only the upper part, "Tang and Song," was published. Additionally, Wang Siqi's "Du Yi" in the late Ming Dynasty offered many insightful interpretations of Du Fu's poems. Shi Hongbao's "Sayings on Reading Du Fu's Poems" in the Qing Dynasty expressed different opinions from Qiu Zhaoao's "Detailed Annotations of Du Fu's Poems," both of which were originally handwritten and are now published by Zhonghua Book Company. In 1962, Zhonghua Book Company also published "A Collection of Essays on Du Fu Research" in three volumes, compiling important essays on Du Fu since the May Fourth Movement. Biographies and new research monographs include Feng Zhi's "Biography of Du Fu," Xiao Difei's "Studies on Du Fu," Fu Gengsheng's "On Du Fu's Poetry," and Zhu Dongrun's "Discussions on Du Fu." More detailed chronologies include Wen Yidong's "Collected Annotations of the Chronology of the Scholar Shaoling" and the "Chronology of Du Fu" compiled by the Sichuan Cultural and Historical Research Institute.