Du Fu: Poverty, War & China’s Greatest Poetry

Today, Du Fu (712 – 770 AD) is often called China’s greatest poet.

But the sheer scale of his genius was only appreciated after his lifetime.

He lived a difficult life in dangerous times. His intense ambition often frustrated.

But for over a millennium, his life story served as a model for countless officials and literati.

He once once wrote of his friend Li Bai (701 – 762 AD) words that could equally apply to himself:

千秋万岁名
寂寞身后事
A fame that will last a thousand years
Is a forlorn fact when it comes after life.
-Du Fu, ‘Dreaming of Li Bai (2)’

Contents

Du Fu’s Biography

Before looking closer at Du Fu’s impact of the Chinese literati over the centuries, it’s worth looking at his life.

The generations after Du Fu did not know his biography as well as we do today.

But the main outlines of his life were available to them in official histories and Du Fu’s own poems.

Ancestry

Du Fu often referred to himself as ‘Du Fu of Jingchao’ in his poems. 

This is because the Du clan considered the Duling district of Jingchao Prefecture their ‘native place’ (a common concept in China).

It was of the twenty districts of the main Tang capital of Chang’an (today’s Xi’an, Shaanxi Province).

His aristocratic branch of the Du family had relocated to Yanshi, near the Eastern capital of the empire (Luoyang, Henan Province).

Du Fu’s most famous ancestor was Du Yu (222 – 285 AD). He was a high-ranking general and politician during the Wei and Jin dynasties, noted for his political achievements and Confucian scholarship.

His mother’s heritage was similarly illustrious. His maternal grandmother was the great-granddaughter of the Tang emperor Taizong (r. 626 – 249 AD).

Du Fu’s paternal great-grandfather, grandfather and father were all officials. Interestingly, his grandfather, Du Shenyan (d. ca. 705 AD), was noted for his scholarship and poetic skill.

(In a poem Du Fu wrote in his 50s, he noted: ‘poetry is the distinction of our family’ (诗是吾家事)).

Unfortunately, not much is known of his father, Du Xian (682 – 741 AD). He was a magistrate of Chongzhou (today a border area between Shandong, Henan, and Hubei).

He appears to have provided well for his family, which no doubt influenced Du Fu’s carefree and roving youth…

Early life

There is dispute over Du Fu’s exact birthplace. Many believe it to be Gong County (today’s Gongyi, Henan Province).

His mother died soon after he was born. His stepmother took over raising him.

Du Fu in the crib

There is a famous story about Du Fu as a baby, which he himself mentioned. 

During an epidemic, the infant Du Fu and his half-brother (his stepmother’s biological son) both fell ill.

The stepmother summoned a sorceress for help. The latter told her that only the child placed in the crib in the south-eastern corner of the room could survive.

Du Fu’s stepmother then moved her own son out of the south-eastern crib and placed Du Fu in it. Soon after, her son died and Du Fu survived.

Education

During the Tang dynasty, education was limited to the sons of the elite. And it was focused primarily on the imperial exams. 

Boys whose parents could afford it would study the Confucian classics at private schools or with tutors.

This meant a rigorous process of memorising multiple classics and tens of thousands of characters.

Golden youth

Du Fu was recognised as a bright youth by his early teens. In an autobiographical poem written around the year 762 (when Du Fu was about 55 years old), he reflected on his youth:

He spent a couple of years travelling south-eastern part of the Tang empire, and even considered a trip to Japan (later he would regret that he hadn’t been). He is believed to have visited Suzhou, Hangzhou, Taizhou, amongst other places.

Unfortunately, not much poetry from this period survived.

735 – 6 AD (aged 24-5): Examinations in Chang’an

In 735, Du Fu appears to have travelled to Chang’an in preparation of the imperial examinations. 

Candidates had to form an acquaintance with the examiners and submit samples of their work to them before the exams, too.

The city was well setup for hosting examination candidates, essentially the wealthy elites’ sons. Restaurants, drinking inns, and other ‘pleasure quarters’ helped the candidates relax and network. 

(A century later, Du Mu (803 – 853 AD) – no relation to Du Fu – wrote eloquently on Chang’an’s pleasure quarters).

However, though a keen drinker and socialiser, Du Fu seems to have been too disinclined to partake in some of the more lurid activities available. And later poems mentioned his intense reading habits before the examinations.

Despite this, he failed the examination. It is not known why a candidate of such talent managed to not stand out. But it would not be the last time it would happen in Chinese history.

736 – 746 AD (aged 25 – 35): ‘More than eight years of lively freedom’

Du Fu described this period of his life as ‘more than eight years of lively freedom’. He seems to have travelled as a man of leisure, spending his time socialising and hunting. 

However, his most well-known English-language biographer, William Hung (1893 – 1980), suggests that his father likely died during this period, around 740 AD. 

This meant that Du Fu would have to have returned home and taken over the role of head of household.

It’s also clear that it meant an end to his days of wealth. He must have sensed his comfortable years of freedom dwindling down quickly.

Hung also believed that Du Fu likely allowed his younger brother to take on a hereditary official appointment entitled to the family after their father’s death.

During this time, he moved his family to Songzhou (modern day Shanqui, Henan Province). 

Meanwhile, he continued to travel around the vast Tang empire.

Here we see a pattern appear, of Du Fu travelling and meeting other officials. Doing this allowed him to network and build his reputation as a good Confucian scholar (and therefore potential official).

However, it depended on one’s status. Not being a high official or an official with high potential would make favour harder to find.

It is around this time he likely first met Li Bai. A sense of the uncertainty Du Fu felt about his future is in a poem he wrote to the older poet in 745 AD:

(The poem has no subject, so it could imply this is Du Fu’s or Du Fu and Li Bai’s situation).

The only option left for Du Fu to earn a living as an official was to re-take the imperial examination.

Back in Chang’an

In 745 AD, Du Fu was back in Chang’an. 

He was likely networking in the hope of attaining an official position. And earning some money (or keep) through writing.

It was around this time he wrote the poem ‘Eight Immortal of the Cup’. It referenced his hard-drinking friends in Chang’an, including Li Bai and Zhang Xu (ca. 675 – 759 AD).

This poem became a popular subject for painters of later dynasties. They would depict the great figures mentioned in the poem a single scene.

It is an almost perfect way to capture the spirit and flourishing of the High Tang period.

However, life wasn’t always so simple and fun for Tang dynasty officials. Tang politics could be cruel and fickle…

The Brilliant Crook’s purges and Du Fu’s second examination denied

The prime minister, Li Linfu (683 – 753 AD), was posthumously dubbed ‘The Brilliant Crook’. 

He purged the Tang administration of many innocent and competent officials. His scheming often involved false accusations and torture. Many of Du Fu’s associates fell victims to this. 

Du wasn’t important enough to targeted with death or banishment. But his exam of 746, along with all of other candidates, was failed by Li Linfu.

747 – 755 AD (aged 35 – 43): Third examination – hope & limbo

Du Fu’s hopes to secure a brilliant official position were raised in the early 750s. 

Three fu (赋) he wrote were presented to the emperor. (Fu are essentially poetic-prose pieces of writing).

The emperor liked them. As a result, a special examination was – after some waiting around – organised for him. 

Du Fu likely saw this as an opportunity to prove his talent and immediately receive a high-ranking position in the government, where he could advise the emperor.

However, this examination was again overseen by Li Linfu. The result was Du Fu was told to wait for further instruction for an official appointment. 

In other words, Li would likely have reported that Du Fu was not as brilliant as his fu might have suggested.

During this period, he appears to have got married and had several children (including twins). His household would likely have included other relatives and servants, too.

755 – 763 AD (aged 43 – 51): Catastrophe – the An Lushan Rebellion

In 755, the An Lushan Rebellion broke out. This was a mutiny by the general An Lushan which developed into a civil war within the Tang empire.

This event caused the deaths of millions and displacement of many more. 

It also marked the end of the High Tang period. Afterward, the empire never fully recovered from the damage.

At the outbreak of the fighting, Du Fu was serving as in an essentially nominal role that required little work or authority (Registrar in the Right Commandant’s Office of the Crown Prince’s Palace).

He attempted to travel west from Fengxian to Sichuan to join the Tang court in exile. And he appears to have been captured by Wang Anshi’s forces and taken to Chang’an.

His captors likely did not know who he was or even that he was educated. 

(Had they known, he would likely have been put to use as an official for the rebels, much like his contemporary poet and official Wang Wei (699 – 761 AD) had been.

Refusal could have meant execution by the rebels. And acceptance could have meant the same fate later on by the imperial forces.)

So, like many others, he was used as forced labour.

His poetry from this time illuminates the sad and desperate scenes he witnessed.

One particularly poignant poem depicted (or recounted? We can’t be sure) an encounter with a desperate Tang prince.

(The Tang imperial family had abandoned many members in their haste to escape the capital before rebel forces captured it).

腰下宝玦青珊瑚，可怜王孙泣路隅。
问之不肯道姓名，但道困苦乞为奴。
已经百日窜荆棘，身上无有完肌肤。[…]
不敢长语临交衢，且为王孙立斯须。
[…] 慎勿出口他人狙。
哀哉王孙慎勿疏 […]
With a jade emblem and a blue coral pendant hanging from his waist, 
a pitiful young prince weeps by the roadside. 
I ask his name, but he won’t say it.
He expresses his distress and begs me to take him as a slave. 
He has been hiding in the thorn bushes for 100 days, his skin is falling from his body. […]
‘I dare not talk with Your highness for long, but I will stand with you a while
[…] We must be careful what say, there are many spies about. 
Poor prince! Look after yourself!’ […]
– Extract from ‘The Unfortunate Prince’ by Du Fu

But he did not lose his ambition to serve.

杜陵有布衣，老大意转拙。
许身一何愚，窃比稷与契。
居然成濩落，白首甘契阔。
盖棺事则已，此志常觊豁。
穷年忧黎元，叹息肠内热。
There is a poor and obscure man from Duling [Du Fu’s ancestors’ home]. 
The older he grows the more impractical he becomes,
to the point he is foolish enough to
wish to serve his country as did great men in the past.
The only result has been disappointment. 
Though his hair is white, he still withstands hardship
and persists despite the frustration.
Not until he is in his coffin will he give up. 
He worries about the people all year round. 
He signs, and his heart burns with anxiety.

-Extract from ‘Five Hundred Words of Lament from the Capital to Fengxian’ by Du Fu

Du Fu even managed to escape rebel-occupied Chang’an. He made the long and difficult journey south to join the royal court in Sichuan.

764 – 766 AD (age 52 – 54): Military advisor

In 764, shortly after the end of the An Lushan Rellion, Du Fu was appointed military advisor to the governor general of Chengdu, Yan Wu.

He performed well in this role, helping Yan achieve victories against Tibetans (a major threat to the Tang empire). He was even granted the right to wear a red robe and a fish-shaped tally bag that distinguished officials of higher rank.

Unfortunately, Yan died in May 765. 

So, once again, Du Fu had to search for a new livelihood.

766 – 768 (aged 54 – 56): Poetically productive years in Kuizhou

Du Fu arrived in Kuizhou (today’s Baidicheng, near Chongqing) in the spring of 768.

He quickly settled with his family outside of the city walls, in an area of villages and orchids known as East Nang.

This period would become particularly influential to later generations of Chinese poets, painters, and calligraphers.

Du Fu time was spent farming, fishing, and doing chores around his humble house. It was similar to the gentleman farmer lifestyle of the famous poet Tao Yuanming (c.365 – 427 AD), whom Du Fu much admired. 

His writings suggest he reduced his drinking and his health improved during this time. 

These would be intensely productive years him as far as poetry was concerned. Over a quarter of his surviving poems (over 400 of them) were written during these two years.

This includes some his most highly praised poems, such as the eight ‘Autumn Thoughts’ (秋兴八首) poems.

It gives a good insight into what a break from politics Kuizhou was for Du Fu. In Kuizhou, he had finally found relative peace and stability after years of restless wandering.

闻道长安似弈棋，百年世事不胜悲。
王侯第宅皆新主，文武衣冠异昔时。
直北关山金鼓振，征西车马羽书驰。
鱼龙寂寞秋江冷，故国平居有所思。
Chang’an is said to be like a chessboard.
For a hundred years, tragic games have been played across it. 
The princes’ and dukes’ mansions all have new owners now. 
Neither the civil nor the military service is like that of times gone by. 
North, beyond the mountain passes, gongs and drums ring out. 
West, horses and chaises with war’s urgent dispatches rush by. 
Here, by the cold river, fish and the dragons are quiet in the autumn,.
One can live peacefully, thinking of the old country.
– ‘Autumn Thoughts (Poem Four)’ by Du Fu

768 – 770 AD (aged 56 – 58): Jiangling, Hengzhou, & Tanzhou

Du Fu left Kuizhou by boat, travelling approximately 253 miles (409KM) downstream on the Yangtze River to Jiangling (near today’s Jingzhou, Henan Province).

The capital, Chang’an, was under military curfew. Otherwise, he would have travelled there to seek an official appointment. 

William Hung suggests that ‘Travelling at Night’ (旅夜书怀) was likely written during Du Fu’s journey to Jiangling:

细草微风岸，危樯独夜舟。
星垂平野阔，月涌大江流。
名岂文章著，官应老病休。
飘飘何所似，天地一沙鸥。
Wind blows the tender grass lining both banks,
The high-masted boat drifts along alone at night. 
Stars droop over expansive, even fields.
The moon pours into the gushing great river.
A great name in literature [for me]?
Age and health have halted my official career. 
Drifting [uncontrollably] with the current [of life],
Just like a beach gull between heaven and earth.
– Du Fu, ‘Travelling at Night’

Du Fu stayed in Jiangling for several months before travelling to Hengzhou (today’s Hengyang, Hunan Province) in 769 and then Tanzhou (today’s Changsha, Hunan Province) in 770.

The distance sailed in total here was about 388 miles (625 km) over the course of a year or more.

He was planning another long journey (of 457 miles [735km] by river), from Tanzhou to Zhenzhou (where his mother’s cousin was a prefect) in 770.

770 AD (aged 57 or 58): Passes away

Flooding and an uprising in Tanzhou delayed Du Fu’s travel plans.

In the winter of 770 AD, he passed away. 

The Official Tang History, published in 945 (175 years after Du Fu’s lifetime), states that he died after a feast. (However, later scholars noted it also listed the wrong year for his death).

Its stated that he was sent beef and wine whilst marooned from the flooding after a visit to a temple. The implication being that this rich food was too much for his frail, malnourished state.

Many felt that this was not a fitting end for Du Fu because it suggested a lack of restraint (a key Confucian taboo). 

A Northern Song forgery (falsely attributed to Tang essayist Han Yu (768 – 824 AD)) even stated that Du Fu drowned.

However, Du Fu’s 20^th century biographer Hung disputed the overeating cause of death on more solid grounds.

He believed that Du Fu likely died of a fever, which one of Du’s final (if not his final) poems references. It also includes the many memorable lines, including:

圣贤名古邈，羁旅病年侵。
Sages of antiquity, did you know of the agony
of an old, sick, and sojourner?
生涯相汨没，时物自萧森。
Mine has been a life that wavers between sinking and floating
In times of dreary decadence.
狂走终奚适，微才谢所钦。
Where will my wild wanderings finally lead?
With so little talent, I am hardly worthy of the regard accorded me.
– Extracts from ‘Sick with Fever on a Boat, I Wrote These Thirty-Six Lines to Present to Relatives and Friends in the Hunan Government’《风疾舟中伏枕书怀三十六韵奉呈湖南亲友》

Du Fu’s legacy

In today’s China

In today’s China, Du Fu is regarded by most as China’s greatest poet, alongside his contemporary and friend Li Bai.

A simple oversimplification can be made about the popularity of each poet:

• Li Bai is the people’s favourite poet: His exuberant, wild genius attracts attention and delight
• Du Fu is the poet’s poet and the voice of intellectuals: His cerebral poetry provides a contemplative historical record.

A third contender, often placed just below these two giant figures, is the versatile, aristocratic poet, musician and painter: Wang Wei (699 – 761 AD).

From the Tang to the 20^th century: the Literati’s role model

Who were the literati?

In China, the literati were men of various ages with a classical education. 

Earlier versions of the concept appeared throughout Chinese history. Du Fu’s contemporary Wang Wei was a famous example of an official who practiced poetry and painting.

But it was Su Shi (1137 – 1101 AD) who appears to have first fully articulated the concept. Thereafter, the concept was refined over centuries.

The literati didn’t have to have passed the imperial exams to enter this class or even to be high officials.

They could also be teachers or low-level officials with abilities in one or more of the overlapping disciplines of poetry, calligraphy and/or painting.

These latter two (calligraphy and painting) in particular had to be something they at least gave the public pretence of practicing only as amateurs. (There wasn’t a professional market for poetry). 

The platonic ideal of a literati member would be a scholar-official who dashes off some brilliant poetry, calligraphy or painting in his leisure hours.

They wouldn’t want money for their artistic endeavours – it would simply be given to friends or acquaintances.

In reality, some of the literati did make a living from their arts. They took commissions from private collectors, sometimes via intermediaries or even directly.

Either way, they would still pay lip service to the notion that they were simply artists above commercial interests.

Why was Du Fu so admired by the literati?

Du Fu’s lifelong persistence to find an official position, in face of disappointment, resonated with later literati.

Historical reasons may have contributed greatly to why this was important. 

One of these was the development of the imperial examination system.

Over time, its importance as a selection method for officials increased. Its intake of candidates increased along with this.

This made it a viable competitor to the hereditary aristocratic selection methods in place before and alongside it.

Although Du Fu was from an aristocratic background, his career more closely resembled this new class of scholar-officials who had to work hard to gain power.

(As Hung suggested, perhaps Du Fu passed his hereditary title over to his younger brother).

This humble and loyal persistence in search of a career reflected the experiences of many literati. It also typified the ideal Confucian gentleman.

Another factor was that Du Fu lived in difficult times.

The Tang court’s corruption and mismanagement contributed to the An Lushan rebellion. Meanwhile, good men like Du Fu were overlooked or neglected.

Many literati could comfort themselves with a comparison to their own era…

Finally, there was the fact that Du Fu was relatively unimportant during his lifetime.

He was not only overlooked as an official, but also relatively neglected (in later literati’s eyes) as a poet, too.

In fact, important literati such as Ouyang Xiu (1007 – 1072 AD) believed that they had ultimately discovered the true extent of Du Fu’s importance.

Also, Du Fu’s time near Kuizhou brought to mind exile. Its southern location had long been a place where officials were sent as punishment. 

For many centuries, before and after Du Fu’s lifetime, this far south was associated with malaria and poverty. However, it also simultaneously brought to mind a kind of self-imposed exile (or retirement) that some officials sought.

小臣议论绝，老病客殊方。
郁郁苦不展，羽翮困低昂。
I, His Majesty’s petty official, no longer join Court discussions. 
I’m only an old, sick stranger in a distant region. 
The sadness of my frustration resembles 
a winged insect unable to fly.
– Extract From ‘Brave Adventures’ (壮游) by Du Fu

Finally, Du Fu’s loyalty inspired the literati, who saw themselves as loyal even when they criticised the emperor.

Su Shi once wrote:

Since antiquity, there have been many poets, but Du Fu was the greatest of them all. This is not only because he experienced hunger and cold during his travels. Nor because he was not utilised by the state. It was because he did not forget his sovereign even for a single meal.

A dissenting voice: Mi Fu

The great Song dynasty calligrapher Mi Fu (1051 – 1107 AD) dissented from one aspect of the Northern Song admiration of Du Fu.

He once responded to Du Fu’s comments on a painting by the Tang dynasty artist Xue Ji (649 – 713 AD). Du had noted how painting and calligraphy were transmitted into the future more readily than merit and fame. Mi wrote:

甫老儒，汲汲于功名，岂不知固有时命，殆是平生寂寥所慕。 嗟乎！五王之功业，寻为女子笑。 而少保之笔精墨妙，摹印亦广，石泐则重刻，绢破则重补，又假以行者，何可数也。
That old Confucian Fu worried about merit and fame. Did he not know of that fixed [force] fate? This was [probably] him worrying and yearning [because of] his lonely life. Alas! [Even] the Five King’s achievements become mere matter for ladies to laugh about. But [Xue Ji’s] brush was refined and brilliant. If a stone [with his calligraphy engraved on it] cracks, it can be re-cut. If silk [with his calligraphy on it] splits, it can be repaired. But how can one’s career achievements be measured [later on]?

– Mi Fu, A History of Painting

Du Fu’s influence on the arts

Poetry

Du Fu’s influence on poetry that came after him is as enormous. 

It’s at least as deep as the influence of Shakespeare on English, for example. And more than twice as long.

Comments by Huang Tingjian (1045 – 1105) highlight well what the literati admired in Du Fu’s work:

但熟观杜子美到夔州后古律诗，便得句法，简易而大巧出焉。平淡而山高水深，似欲不可企及[…]
[You should] thoroughly study the poetry of Zi Mei [Du Fu] from his time in Kui Prefecture, and imbue his methods. His line’s structures are simple yet filled with the greatest ingenuity. The style is subtle yet as reaches the heights of mountains and the depths of the sea.
– Huang Tingjian, ‘Letter to Wang Guangfu’ (《与王观复书》)

Huang was not the only literati advocating close readings of Du’s work.

A generation before, the great literati and official Ouyang Xiu (1007 – 1072) exchanged ‘rhyme matching’ poems (based on Du Fu’s poetry) with Mei Yaochen. 

These are poems which matched the structure and rhyme patterns of Du Fu’s original poems. They were full of opaque allusions and hints that made them extremely difficult for non-literati to decode.

This made them perfect for obliquely critiquing other officials…

Many Northern Song literati (including Su Shi, Huang Tingjian, and others) continued on this tradition.

Calligraphy

He himself did mention calligraphy in his poetry. 

For example, he briefly mentioned Lady Wei (272 AD – 349 AD) and Wang Xizhi (303 – 361 AD) together in one poem (‘On Painting to General Cao Ba’).

And as mentioned above, he was friends with – and wrote about – Zhang Xu, too.

He even expressed pride in his own calligraphy (none of which survives).

But his influence on calligraphers lies mainly in the Confucian traits they saw in him: decency, integrity, and steadfastness.

Theory around calligraphy long emphasised it being an art that reflected the calligraphers’ inner cultivation.

This logic can come undone under interrogation.

For example, a calligrapher such as the hated politician Cai Jing (1047 – 1126) was clearly a great calligrapher. But later on, he was simply overlooked because of his reputation.

Painting

The Chinese literati used Du Fu to highlight the crossover between poetry and painting.

For example, Su Shi once wrote:

少陵翰墨无形画韩干丹青不语诗。
Shaoling’ [Du Fu’s] writings are pictures without words.

Su Shi’s friend, the imperial family member Wang Shen (ca. 1048 – ca.1103), took direct inspiration from Du Fu’s Kuizhou poetry to create Misty River, Layered Peaks.

Art historian Alfreda Murck explained how this worked:

The phrase “layered peaks” derives from section two of Du Fu’s poem in which he describes the dramatic scenery of Kui Prefecture through rapidly shifting focus of things above (precipitous mountains) and things below (flora, fauna, water):
At times I am startled by layered peaks, 有时惊叠嶂，
Where can one glimpse a level stream? 何处觅平川？
[…] The composition is […] not an illustration of Du Fu’s poem but a lyric distillation of Du Fu’s moment of awakening. In the broadest terms, the contrast of obscuring mist and clear landscape was a visual metaphor for pre- and post-enlightenment.
– Afreda Murck, Poetry and Painting in Song China: The Subtle Art of Dissent (2000)

The imperial commissioned Xuanhe Catalogue of Paintings (1125) continued Su’s line of thought (without explicitly crediting or even mentioning him!).

In its entry on Li Gonglin (ca. 1041 – 1106), it noted stated:

大抵公麟以立意为先，布置缘饰为次。其成染精致，俗工或可学焉，至率略简易处，则终不近也。盖深得杜甫作诗体制而移于画。
Gonglin first prioritised expressing ideas. Composition and costume details were secondary to him. Common craftsmen [painters] learned his delicate colour-wash methods, but as to his sketchy, simple style – they never came close to it. He imbued the fundamentals of Du Fu’s poetry and applied them to painting […]
– Xuanhe Catalogue of Paintings