Chapter 57 Chapter 57: Du Fu is a Good Friend

In 744 AD, 43-year-old Li Bai and 32-year-old Du Fu hit it off in Luoyang, then the eastern capital, and became close friends. At that time, Li Bai, who was neglected by Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty and was given back the money, had just left the capital Chang'an disheartened and full of worry and anger, while Du Fu, who had failed many exams, was hesitating in Luoyang city, not knowing where to go.The accidental meeting of two talented poets cleared away the haze in their hearts like bright sunshine, and the two pure and eager hearts were bathed in the clear spring of friendship together.

They sympathized with each other, communicated on an equal footing, expressed their feelings, commented on the past and the present, and established a deep and sincere friendship.Before breaking up, the two agreed to meet next time in Liang and Song Dynasties (now in Shangqiu, Kaifeng, Henan), and then they would visit Taoism and seek immortality together. In the autumn of the same year, the two went to Liang and Song Dynasties as promised, where they also met the poet Gao Shi.The three have their own ambitions and the same ideals. They travel together, comment on literature and poetry, and talk about the general trend of the world.

In the second year, 745 A.D., Li Bai and Du Fu met for the third time in Donglu, and they traveled together in Qi and Zhao.They rode horses and hunted together, wrote poems and essays, walked and slept together, and were as close as brothers, just like what Du Fu wrote in "Looking for Fan Shi's Hermitage with Li Shibai": "I am also a guest from the East, and I pity you like a brother." .Drunk and sleeping together in autumn, walking hand in hand with the sun.” They also searched for hermits and masters together, and went to Qizhou to visit Li Yong, a well-known essayist and calligrapher at that time.

During the autumn and winter of this year, Li Bai and Du Fu said goodbye in Lu County (now Yanzhou, Shandong). Du Fu wrote a poem "To Li Bai": "Autumn comes to care about Shang Piaopeng, but Ge Hong is not ashamed of cinnabar. Drinking and singing Kongdu Day, who is Feiyang domineering?" In just over a year, Li Bai and Du Fu made two appointments and met three times. Their acquaintance deepened, but their behavior after breaking up was quite different. Li Bai is a person who "doesn't want to last forever, but wants to have once". This is true for love (he has been married several times in his life), and it is also true for friendship, so he can make friends quickly wherever he goes, but after leaving Will soon no longer think about the old people.

Du Fu was a lover of friendship. After breaking up with Li Bai, he dreamed of his old friend and never forgot. There are five poems, including "Conceiving Li Bai at the End of the Day" and "Dream of Li Bai (Two Poems)". In the poem, Du Fu is looking forward to "when will a bottle of wine, pay attention to the detailed essay"; lamenting "three nights of frequent dreams of the king, and the love of the king sees the king's will"; What is a gentleman's opinion", "The miasma in the south of the Yangtze River, there is no news of chasing guests", worrying about Li Bai's safety after being exiled-"There are many storms in the rivers and lakes, and the boats are afraid of falling", "The water is deep and the waves are wide, and there is no way to catch dragons", a sincere gentleman The heart is beyond words, and the deep friendship is touching.

When the news that Li Bai was pardoned on his way to exile in Yelang reached Chengdu, where Du Fu lived, Du Fu was overjoyed and wrote the poem "Not Seen": "I don't see Li Shengjiu, it's so sad to pretend to be crazy! Everyone wants to kill, and I only pity the talent." .Thousands of agile poems, a glass of wine drifting away. Kuangshan reading place, so you can come back with a white hair." Careful friends may notice that compared with Du Fu's other poems, the above poem has one difference, that is, he actually has no title. The first two words of the book made the title.

Why is this so?Because when Du Fu heard the good news about his old friend, he was so excited and happy that he forgot to give the poem a name.