Du Fu's Commentary - (Illustrated Edition)

Author: Zhu Dongrun
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-08-01
Features: This book is a critical biography of Du Fu, the Tang Dynasty poet who achieved the pinnacle of classical poetry. Du Fu's poetry primarily records the social realities of the Tang Dynasty's rise and fall before and after the An Lushan Rebellion, as well as the poet's turbulent life. It is known as "poetry history." This biography begins with Du Fu's works and, combined with extensive historical documents, analyzes and interprets the social significance and artistic value of Du Fu's poetry in terms of both content and form. It also explores the thoughts, emotions, and artistic journey conveyed and reflected in his works, making it highly valuable in literature and history.
Du Fu (712–770), styled Zimei, was known as the "Wild Old Man of Shao Ling." He was a renowned poet of the High Tang, celebrated alongside Li Bai as the "Li and Du." Du Fu wrote over a thousand poems in his lifetime, profoundly reflecting the social realities of the Tang Dynasty's decline from prosperity to decay. His works expressed deep compassion for the lower classes, earning him the title of "poetry history." In terms of art, Du Fu's poetry is renowned for its refinement, rigor, and melancholic yet resolute tone.
Based on extensive and rich historical documents, this book, combined with specific examples of Du Fu's poetry, records and analyzes the life of the "Sage of Poetry," Du Fu, and the evolution of his thoughts and emotions. It stands as an outstanding biography of the poet.
Like Li Bai, Du Fu was a poet of eighth-century China. They belonged to the landlord class, not the working people, nor were they writers of the proletariat, as that class had not yet emerged at the time. However, in their poetry, especially in the best of it, they could employ the language of the people and express their sentiments. Thus, we can call them "poets of the people," distinguishing them from other poets of their time.
Since the ninth century, people have compared Du Fu and Li Bai. Yuan Zhen, in the preface to the posthumous inscription for Du Fu, the former Assistant Director of the Ministry of Works, wrote: "At the same time, Li Bai of Shandong, also renowned for his extraordinary writings, was called 'Li and Du' by contemporaries. I observe that his bold and unrestrained style, free from constraints, in depicting objects and in his ballads and songs, is indeed comparable to Du Fu. However, in terms of elaborating on themes from beginning to end, arranging rhymes, with passages ranging from a thousand to several hundred words, and with a heroic spirit and profound tone, as well as in the precision of his couplets and the abandonment of the ordinary, Li Bai cannot even reach the outer gate of Du Fu, let alone the inner sanctum?" This was praise for Du Fu at the expense of Li Bai, but he only commended Du Fu for "elaborating on themes and arranging rhymes." Thus, later, Yuan Haoquan remarked: "The elaborate style is just one aspect; with such boundaries, he is still limited. Du Fu has the 'unhewn jade' of unparalleled brilliance, but can't help but be constrained by the narrow-mindedness of Wei Zhi." Yuan Haoquan believed that Du Fu's five-character long regulated poems were merely one form of his expression. To judge the superiority of Li and Du based solely on this would be incorrect. This statement is valid, but calling Du Fu's five-character long regulated poems "narrow and restrictive" is also an excessive denigration.
Han Yu of the Tang Dynasty, in his poem "Regulating Zhang Ji," wrote: "The writings of Li and Du shine like a thousand suns. Unaware of their folly, the petty-minded resort to slander. Like an ant attempting to shake a tree, it is laughably out of its league. If I had lived after them, I would gaze up in admiration. In dreams, I often see them; in daylight, my thoughts grow vague. I merely observe the marks of the ax and chisel, unable to discern the ship that navigates the waters. I imagine the time when they wielded their great blades, soaring to the heavens. The cliffs were split open, and heaven and earth trembled with thunder." Here, Han Yu held both Li Bai and Du Fu in the highest regard, especially in his vivid portrayal of their creative processes. However, he did not clarify who was superior.
From today's perspective, both Li Bai and Du Fu achieved great success in using the language of the people and expressing their sentiments. However, there was an era-specific limitation. Li Bai was born in the first year of Wu Zetian's reign in Chang'an (701) and died in the first year of Shaozong's Baoying reign (762). Du Fu was born in the first year of Xuanzong's Tianchi reign (712) and died in the fifth year of Daizong's Dali reign (770). Li Bai was born eleven years earlier and died eight years earlier. In normal times, whether eleven or eight years would make little difference; but in the disintegration of the vast Tang Empire, eight years was a long span, and the blood and tears of the people only deepened the poet's sorrow and grief. Li Bai was born eleven years earlier, but those eleven years were spent in joy, leaving little impression. In the fifteenth year of Tianbao (756), the vast empire began to crumble, with the state disintegrating year by year and people dying in droves. This situation persisted until the first year of Emperor Taizu of Song's Jianlong reign (960). Du Fu's creative period mainly spanned the years after the fifteenth year of Tianbao, precisely during the turmoil of this great empire.
Afterward, to survive, he traveled from Shaanxi to Gansu, from Gansu to Sichuan, enduring the hardships of exile. His life brought him closer to the working people, and his thoughts and emotions merged with theirs. True, he had relatively stable periods in Chengdu and Zizhou, but they were brief. He then moved to Yun'an and Kuizhou, where he received protection from local warlords. However, as the Song Dynasty poet Lu You said, his life was like a tall man trapped under a low roof, filled with exceptional and pain. Du Fu was not a laborer, but he lived the life of a laborer. In his final three years, he traveled from Kuizhou through Gong'an, Jingzhou, Yuezhou, and Tanzhou, finally reaching Leiyang, where he ended his life on a small boat. He felt the peril of his life and thought of preserving his remaining years in present-day Guangdong and Guangxi, but it was too late. He died in the wilderness of Leiyang, ending his painful life.
Yes, Li Bai's final years were also fraught with hardship, but they were much shorter, and his suffering was far less. The hardships reflected in his poems were far less profound than Du Fu's, and in this regard, he had a long way to go.
There is one more point: Although Li Bai served as a court poet, his position, though official, did not involve participation in major central government affairs. Du Fu, however, was different. Before the fifteenth year of Tianbao, he had already entered the central government, though as a low-ranking official, he had contact with the central authorities. During the An Lushan Rebellion, he spent difficult days in Chang'an. After Emperor Shaozong Li Heng proclaimed himself emperor in Lingwu and gathered northwest forces to advance toward Fengxiang, Du Fu, even in straw sandals and ragged clothes, joined them. Though his position was merely that of a Junior Right Supplement (a rank of eight), he connected with Fang Mao, then a co-prime minister, effectively becoming involved in central government affairs. His status was far more important than Li Bai's.
This means that during the years of the great empire's turmoil, Du Fu was in the center, and his poetry fully reflected this. Du Fu's position and the reflections in his poetry were far more significant than Li Bai's. This is an undeniable fact.
Of course, some say Li Bai's talent far surpasses Du Fu's, but we remain silent on this, as we cannot measure talent. Others say Li Bai is not a Confucianist, while Du Fu is, making Li Bai far superior. We also remain silent on this, as Li Bai sought immortality and practiced Taoism, and the detachment of Taoism from the working people was no better than that of Confucianism. In fact, neither Li Bai nor Du Fu were laborers, but as long as some of their works reflected the thoughts and emotions of the working people, the evaluation of these works should far exceed others.
Here, we do not need to dwell on the comparison between Li Bai and Du Fu. Instead, we should focus on how they reflected their era and the prosperity and disintegration of the Tang Empire. This is a major issue for readers to consider.
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