Du Fu Shi Zhu (Shang Xia) -- Chuan Shi Cang Shu

Author: Qiu Zhaoao (Qing) annotated, Yu Leping supplemented
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2004-01-01
Features: Du Fu, styled Zimei, was born in 712 AD and died in 770 AD, a native of Gongxian, Henan. In his youth, he traveled extensively in the Jiangnan and Qi-Zhao regions, witnessing the grandeur of the mountains and rivers. From the fifth year of Tianbao (746 AD), he lived in Chang'an for ten years, deeply feeling the social reality of "the rich enjoying wine and meat while the poor freeze to death on the streets." After the first year of Zhide (756 AD), for over a dozen years, Du Fu wandered from place to place. Due to the An Lushan Rebellion, the Tang Dynasty declined from prosperity, with widespread suffering and hardship for the people. Du Fu, like the common folk, faced destitution and wandered to the southwest. He died in winter of the fifth year of Dali on a boat along the Xiang River. In the history of Chinese poetry, Du Fu is one of the greatest poets, whose poems blend social reality with personal experiences, perfectly unifying ideological content with artistic form. In his collected works, he deeply reflects his life's journey, using the art of poetry to describe history and record major social events. Many of his political poems either express political views, show concern for the suffering of the people, or use allegory and satire. Some poems that celebrate nature also fuse scenery with emotion, closely linking the depiction of natural landscapes with human affairs.