A Special Course by Ben Wang: Du Fu(杜甫) and His Songs of Pacifism: the other towering poet after Li Bai during Tang dynasty

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Along with Li Bai (李白701-762), Du Fu (杜甫712-770) is the greatest poet during the Tang Dynasty (618-907), when poetry was held in the highest esteem. The two brought poetry to the zenith of its life. Han Yu ((韩愈768- 824), one of the most prominent men of letters in Chinese culture stated in a poem:

“So long as the poetry of Li and Du are in existence,
Its brightness will shine over thousands of miles in distance.”

 （李杜文章在，光焰萬丈長）

Du Fu’s range of his talents was quite equaled by his sympathy and concerns for his fellow countrymen and the social conditions they lived in, and thus earning him the modern fame as a literary “realist” and a “poet of Confucianism, Pacifism and Humanitarianism,” as opposed to the high Romanticism and a high sense of Detachment of Daoism that is the quintessence of works by Li Bai. Despite the different styles and spirits of their works and the difference in age between the two – Li was 11 years Du’s senior – Du regarded Li in high respect and awe, dedicating many poems to the former, 5 of which will be studied in this upcoming class.

Though a poet composing sublime poems pure with beautiful choice of words, lovely descriptions of the natural scenes, Du Fu composed many of his signature long poems with syncretism of the prose and Fu style, which is a pedantic poetic genre that flourished during the Han dynasty more than six centuries before Tang dynasty. Du would choose this style mostly in his poems against the war, the poverty of people’s lives and the corrupt political and social policies. (He eye-witnessed the violent and devastating An Lu-shan Insurrection and its destructive aftermath (755-767) that brought unprecedented deaths and chaos which all but annihilated Tang dynasty. Du Fu suffered unimaginable pains throughout the dark period.)  Du Fu would address the homely and the unpoetically details of everyday life, as in his well-known Ballad of the Army Carts 兵車行, which is one of the selections in our semester. The “realism” and “unpoetic” characteristics of this group of Du’s poetry mark none other than his special style that distinguishes some of his poems as a revolutionary specialty of his lasting and memorable achievement.

As for a larger group of the poems he composed, the timelessness of his magical and particular art in his mastery of sound and tonal schemes for the poetics, his passion and intense love for his beloved homeland, his loved ones, will remain in the mind and heart of all those who read them. An especially poignant and unforgettable poem selected from his Autumn Sentiments 秋興 will be the finale of this semester dedicated to the life and some of the best poems of Du Fu.

This also marks the first time a whole semester will be focused on the study of Du Fu under the guidance of Ben Wang of China Institute.