Chapter 72 163 Du Fu wrote "History of Poetry"

The Anshi Rebellion is over.After all, this is something to be happy about for the people who have suffered from wars and chaos and longed for stability.Du Fu, a poet who lived in exile in Zizhou (now Santai, Sichuan) at that time, was even more ecstatic and burst into tears when he heard the news. Du Fu, Zimei.Like Li Bai, he was one of the most famous poets in the Tang Dynasty.In the history of literature, they are collectively called "Li Du".Du Fu was originally from Gong County, Henan Province. He grew up in a declining bureaucratic family. He studied hard since he was a child, traveled to many famous mountains and rivers, and wrote many excellent poems.When he was in his thirties, he met Li Bai in Luoyang.Du Fu is eleven years younger than Li Bai.The two people have different personalities, but their common interests and hobbies make them close friends.

Later, he went to Chang'an to take the Jinshi examination. At that time, Li Linfu, the treacherous prime minister, was in power. Li Linfu hated scholars the most, fearing that these scholars from the lower classes would become officials and talk about government affairs, which would be unfavorable to him. Xuanzong said that the candidates who took the exam this time were very bad, and none of them were qualified.Tang Xuanzong was wondering, Li Linfu made another congratulatory memorial, saying that this incident shows that the emperor is wise, talented people have been appointed, and there are no leftover talents among the people.

Scholars at that time all regarded the imperial examination as a way to find a way out. It goes without saying that Du Fu felt frustrated when he suffered such a setback.He lived a life of poverty and misery in Chang'an. He saw with his own eyes the luxury and luxury of the rich and the miserable scenes of the poor suffering from cold and hunger. "The wine and meat of Zhumen stinks, and the road is frozen to death" is the immortal poem he wrote. Du Fu stayed in Chang'an for ten years. Tang Xuanzong had just appointed him an official position, and the Anshi Rebellion broke out.The people in Chang'an area fled one after another.Du Fu's family was also squeezed into the ranks of refugees. After suffering all kinds of hardships, they finally found a rural area and settled down.At this time, when he heard the news that Tang Suzong had ascended the throne in Lingwu, he left home to join Suzong, but he never expected to encounter rebels on the way and be arrested in Chang'an.

Chang'an has fallen into the hands of the rebels. The rebels burned, killed and looted everywhere, and the palaces and houses were burned in the fire.Some officials of the Tang Dynasty surrendered, and some were sent to Luoyang by the rebels.After Du Fu was arrested in Chang'an, the leader of the rebel army saw that he did not look like a high-ranking official, so he released him. In the second year, Du Fu escaped from Chang'an, and when he heard that Tang Suzong had arrived in Fengxiang (now Fengxiang, Shaanxi), he rushed to Fengxiang to see Suzong.At that time, Du Fu was so poor that he didn't even have a decent set of clothes. He was wearing a worn coat with elbows exposed, and a pair of old hemp shoes on his feet.Tang Suzong expressed his appreciation for Du Fu's long journey to the imperial court, and appointed him an official post of Zuo Shiyi.

Zuo Shiyi is an admonisher.Although Tang Suzong gave Du Fu this official position, he didn't mean to reuse him.But Du Fu started to do things seriously. After a while, Fang Guan (sound guan), the prime minister, was dismissed by Tang Suzong. Du Fu believed that Fang Guan was very talented and should not be dismissed, so he wrote a memorial to Suzong.In this way, Suzong was offended. Thanks to someone who said something nice in front of Tang Suzong, he was sent home. After the Tang army regained Chang'an, Du Fu also returned to Chang'an with many officials.Tang Suzong sent him to Huazhou (now Huaxian, Shaanxi) as a small official in charge of sacrifices and school work.Du Fu came to Huazhou with a frustrated mood.At that time, although Chang'an and Luoyang were recovered by the government and army, the Anshi rebels had not yet been wiped out, and the war was still fierce.The Tang army recruited strong men everywhere to supplement their troops, tossing the people so hard that they couldn't live.One day, Du Fu passed Shihao Village (in the southeast of Shan County, Henan Province today), and it was already very late.He went to a poor family to spend the night, and he was received by an old farmer and his wife.In the middle of the night, when he was tossing and turning and couldn't sleep, there was a sudden knock on the door.Du Fu listened quietly in the room, only to hear that the old man next door jumped over the back wall and fled. The old woman agreed and went to open the door.

The people who entered the house were the officials sent by the government to arrest the strong men. They yelled sharply and asked the old woman, "Where did your man go?" The old woman cried and said: "My three children have all gone to Yecheng to fight, and just two days ago a letter from one of my sons said that both brothers had died on the battlefield. There is only one daughter-in-law and a nursing grandson in the family.Who else do you want? " The old woman begged a lot, but the guard still refused to give up.The old woman had no choice but to be taken away by the guards and go to the barracks to do hard labor for the soldiers.

At dawn, when Du Fu left the house, the old farmer was the only one seeing off. Seeing this miserable scene with his own eyes, Du Fu felt very disturbed, so he wrote this incident into a poem called "Shihao Officials".When he was in Huazhou, he wrote a total of six such poems, which together are called "Three Officials and Three Farewells" ("Shihao Officials", "Tongguan Officials", "Xin'an Officials", "Newly Married Farewell", "Changing Officials") "Farewell to the Old", "Farewell to No Home").Because most of Du Fu's poems are about the suffering of the people during the Anshi Rebellion, reflecting the process of the Tang Dynasty from prosperity to decline, people call his poems "Poetry History".

The following year, he resigned his official post in Washington State.Then, there was a severe drought in Guanzhong. Du Fu was too poor to survive there, and took his whole family into exile in Chengdu. With the help of his friends, he built a thatched cottage by the Huanhua River in the western suburbs of Chengdu, and lived there. Nearly four years of hermit life.Later, because of his friend's death, he had no support in Chengdu, so he took his whole family and fled eastward.In 770 AD, due to poverty and disease, he died in a small boat on the Xiangjiang River. After his death, in order to commemorate this great poet, people preserved the place where he lived in Chengdu, which is the famous "Du Fu Thatched Cottage".