Collection of Du Mu Materials　Collection of Classical Literature Research Materials

Author: Zhonghua Book Company
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2006-04-29
Features: Du Mu was a renowned writer of the late Tang Dynasty, celebrated for his poetry and equally famous with Li Shangyin of the same era. He was also skilled in prose. During the late Tang Dynasty, when parallel prose was being revived, Du Mu persistently adhered to the creation of classical prose and achieved remarkable success, alongside only Sun Qiao. Du Mu inherited the family tradition of his ancestor Du You, who compiled the Tongdian, and was fond of discussing politics and military affairs. He once wrote Zui Yan (On Crime), Shou Lun (On Defense), and Zhan Lun (On Warfare), and also annotated the Sunzi. A man of practical and world-relevant talent, he lamented living in a declining era, with his aspirations constrained. He was not merely one who sought solace in elegance, poetry, and wine. Du Mu's poetry did not imitate the ancients or conform to the trends of his time. He uniquely possessed a blend of ruggedness and elegance, standing out distinctly in the late Tang Dynasty, as described by Liu Xizai as "handsome and spirited." Though he may not be ranked among the great masters, he was certainly worthy of fame. Du Mu had his nephew Pei Yanhan compile and arrange the Yan River Collection in twenty volumes. Later, Song Dynasty scholars compiled the Outer Collection and Separate Collection, but unfortunately, many works not by Du Mu were included. The Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House combined and published them as the Yan River Collection. It was published in 1978. As for Du Mu's poetry, there is the Yan River Poetry Collection with Annotations by Feng Jiwu of the Qing Dynasty. Modern scholar Mou Qian wrote the Du Mu Chronology in 1940, which was published at the time, and later wrote the Biography of Du Mu, which has been widely referenced in the study of Du Mu.