How the Wars in Tang Impact on Du Fu's Poetry - Literature review Example

The wars in Tang impact on Du Fus poetries The Tang dynasty has been regarded the highlight of Chinese civilization. The Tang Dynasty was a Chinese Imperial dynasty that occurred just before the Five dynasties period and after the Sui Dynasty (Ebrey 212). It was instituted by the Li family in June 18, 618, when they took power after the weakening and eventual fall down of the Sui Dynasty (Ebrey 212). The Dynasty was however temporarily broken up from 690-705 AD but took power after and ruled until 907. The dynasty was a period in Which the Chinese matured and flourished. Literature at this time was held in high regards and it thrived with encyclopedias and geographical works being compiled in high numbers by scholars (Chang 96). The Tang Dynasty era was also a period of distinguished innovations. It was during this dynasty that the development of woodblock printing was developed amongst other impressive scientific innovations. Block printing was a great advantage on the literary history of Chinese culture as it allowed poetry to be recorded thus enabling it to flourish (Owen 112). During this period, Buddhism flourished and became the main influence of Chinese culture. Native sects within the Chinese culture also flourished and were fostered. Over time, Buddhism was however persecuted leading to its reduction in influence. The Tang era was filled with several rebellions and natural disasters. The An Shi rebellion that took place when the power of the Tang dynasty was at its height between 755 and 763 was the beginning of these rebellions (Patchanee 9). This rebellion destroyed the prosperity of the dynasty created chances for further insurrections. The gradual rise of the jiedushi, regional military governors, was also a weakening factor for the Tang dynasty as they did not support the central government. The Li family was a military aristocratic family. They initiated various political and administrational policies that helped them to rule and also enabled the Chinese culture to grow. Education was a very important part for people seeking to prosper. Detailed official and personal documents were treasured and kept. Contracts were a big part of this dynasty and soon the Chinese contractual language was deeply entrenched into their literary culture (Seth 12). The political center of the dynasty was the City of Chang’an. It was here that the Tang emperor met with dignitaries and other important guests entertaining them with music, poetry, drama, and acrobatic performances. Trained professional were always kept near the palace in order to serve the emperor and those with the best performances were usually highly revered and awarded. In no other period has Chinese literature and art experienced such a huge leap as the Tang period. This period was a golden age of Chinese art and literature. Over 49, 000 poems written by about 2, 200 Chinese authors from the Tang period still exist up to today (Patchanee 24). During the Tang Period, anyone who wished to pass the imperial exams had to perfect their skills in the composition of poems. Not only was poetry competitive during this time but also poetry contest was an integral part in entertaining esteemed guest during banquets and other social gatherings of the elite class. During the Tang period, gushi and jintishi (regulated verse) were the popular poem styles used (Owen 58). Out of all historical eras of China, Poems written during the Tang period remain the most popular. The Tang poems were greatly emulated by future dynasties beginning with the Song Dynasty. It was during the Song Dynasty that Du Fu who lived between 712 and 770 was formally recognized as the greatest poet from the Tang era (Hung 15). Du Fu Most of the information about Du Fu was collected from his poems. Du Fu was born in 712 in an unknown city near Henan province. He was raised by his aunt as his mother died shortly after giving birth (Chou 12). His father was a scholar official and as such, Du-Fu was enrolled in the standard education for a civil servant. His education entailed the study of Confucian philosophy, poetry and history. In the mid-730s, he took the civil service examination in Chang’an but to his surprise, he failed to pass. A lot of theories have been forwarded on the reason why the great literary master failed to pass a simple historical and poetry exam. Hung (18) forwards that Du Fu failed to the dense nature of his early poetry works while Chou (15) argues that his failure was mainly because he did not nurture connections I the capital. After failing his exam, Du-Fu travelling to neighboring towns and cities. When his father died in 740, Du-Fu had a chance to enter into the civil service to the high ranking of his father. However, he passed on this chance and left it to one of his step brothers. He spent the next couple of years in Luoyang area carrying out manual labor to survive. In 744, Du Fu met Li Bai for the first time forming an instant friendship. The meeting with Li Bai was a very big influence on Du Fu. According to Young, this meeting was an important decisive element in Du Fu artistic development (24). Du Fu returned to the capital, Chang’an in 747 to retake his civil service examinations. He was however unsuccessful again but this failure because the chief minister Li Lin-Fu failed all the candidates in order to ensure that he did not have any rivals for his post (Chou 16). Du Fu gave up on the exams and never took them again. In 752, Du Fu married and by 1757 he had a total of five children. In 755, Du Fu was appointed to the post of Registrar of the Right Commandant’s office. The same year he was appointed to his post was the year that the An Lushan Rebellion started (Chou, 18). The rebellion ran for eight straight years until it was suppressed. The war caused a lot of tension and strife resulting in misery and death to very many people. During the rebellion, Du Fu lived a nomadic life being forced to constantly move in order to avoid the impacts of the war and the associated famine. It was during this period that Du Fu emerged as a poet. He looked at the suffering and fears of his family and friend and turned them into theme for his poems. Du Fu Poems In his poems, Du Fu drew a lot from Confucian ideologies. In Confucianism, all poets are responsible for cultivating and criticizing the society, as well as acting as the voice of morality (Patchanee, 22). During the An Lushan rebellion, there were a lot of deaths, misery and suffering in the Chinese society. Du Fu embarked at studying and commenting on this situation through his poems. Du Fu’s war poems have inspired a lot of Chinese poets and it has become a universal fact that Du Fu was indeed the greatest poet in Chinese History (Hung 2). During the Tang era, poetry existed in three different styles. The first style is the regulated verse. In this style, poems existed of eight lines each consisting of 5 to 7 syllables (Lee 449). The second style was the truncated verse. This style consisted of four lines having the same number of syllables as the regulated verse i.e. 5 to 7 syllables (Lee 450). The last style was the tz’u. This style took the form of lyrics ion music and was the predominant cultural style. One of the greatest war poems written by Du Fu is The chariots go forth to war (Seth 115). The poem introduces the conditions that were facing the people during the An Lushan rebellion. The bulk of the poem takes the tone of a conversation between an old war veteran and a passerby. At the beginning of the poem, Du Fu describes the sight and sound of the Chinese war fare. In the poem, the families are devastated when a member of the family has to leave to fight in the war. Before the soldiers depart, an old man asks a soldier about where they are going to attack. The soldier starts reiterating his life history. According to the poem, he was taken when he was still a young boy. This was common during the Tang period as young boys were constricted to the army or taken by rebels to be trained. The soldier then remarks that he left as a young boy but has returned home an old man and now has been called once again to duty. According to Confucianism, soldiers had to follow all the wishes of their leader. As such when the An Lushan rebellion started, young boys, and old veterans were called to serve requiring them to leave their homes without looking back (Ebrey 207). The passerby then comments on the state of affairs that have arisen due to the war. He notes that some villages have been abandoned with the women having to pick up jobs that were usually delegated to men such as working in the fields. Lack of labor also means that food rots in the fields while people go hungry. Soldiers are recruited from many towns and though they fight, they do not have “heart” or the ambition to do so. The fight because they are ordered to and not because they believe in a higher calling. The passerby notes that it is better to have a daughter than a son as the daughter can be married and leave to be married and leave peacefully. The sons however are exposed to danger and usually return dead from the wars only for the parents to bury them. The poem ends when the passerby laments on the pain and suffering that the people have undergone through and how the spirits cry for them and the heavens mourn for the present and future suffering of the people. In another poem, War, Du Fu presents his frustration and opposition to the war (Watson 39). Du Fu presents the story of a white horse galloping in the battlefield (Seth 120). From the tone of the poem, it is evident that the horseman was dead. He looks at the reason why the warrior was at the war and feels sad. The warrior’s motivation for war was a derivative of the command given to fight their enemies. However to the warrior, the command was not to fight but to die at the hands of the enemy. At his home, his family mourns for him even though they do not know he is dead nor can they do anything to help him. The poem was based on Du Fu’s observation in that young boys were usually taken from villages to fight in the war without proper training. Once a child left for battle, it was hard for them to return alive and unharmed. Families were mourning for their sons in the army and for the damage being brought on by the war. The third poem is Fireflies. In this poem, Du Fu reflects on his own mortality (Cooper 47). He is in a war ravaged town when some fireflies fly into his room. The fireflies are free and warm. He remarks on their beauty and how their characters contradict to his own. While they are warm, his lute and book seem cold to his touch despite writing being his greatest passion. There movements are uninhibited and they are free to roam from the flowers to the well-curb. He notices that wherever they go, they are able to make the place beautiful (Watson 32). He looks at the fireflies and wonders if the following year he will be alive to see them again. According to this poem, the war that was taking place was disturbing and depressing. The future is uncertain and things of beauty have all but been destroyed. He is uncertain of his future and only hopes to see the next day. The final poem this paper analyzes is a view in spring (Chung 81). In this poem, Du Fu is caught behind enemy lines when the rebels during the An Lushan rebellion over Chang’an, the capital. In the eight lines of poetry, Du Fu summarizes the misery and suffering of those affected by the war and juxtaposes the grief of human affairs with the enduring beauty of nature. The poem was written during a time when the An Lushan rebels brought Emperor Xuanzong rule to an end and the golden age that existed at the time. C Confucian was brought up in an era where the Confucian ideals of honor and duty were greatly revered. The rebellion went against all his beliefs and the suffering brought about by the war greatly disturbed Du Fu. In the beginning of the poem, Du Fu starts with the phrase “a kingdom smashed” (Lee 451). This describes his belief that the stability and prosperity that existed has been compromised by the rebellion. This selfish human act, disturbs the tranquility and beauty of nature. The poem is sad and is in the form of an alarm. Nature cries due to the suffering that is unleashed. People are sad and terrified and communication from loved one is a great relief as it conveys love and that the loved ones are safe. The four poems presented shows Du Fu reaction to the war and the conditions that existed during the war. Du Fu gained famed for his detailed narrative of the war time tragedies and situation through his poems. Du Fu usually reacted with a great deal of emotion and passion when changes in the government policy and far reaching consequences for the Chinese population (Chou, 18). His poems follow the Confucian ideology that poems should stir the sympathies of the listeners as well as reflect on the moral and social history. Conclusion Du Fu has been noted to be one of the greatest Chinese poets in history if not the best. His poems reflected on the nature of human suffering and the conditions of war. Despite failing two exams in which poetry was a main subject, Du Fu proved himself to be one of the greatest poets of all time. The An Lushan rebellion was a period of great suffering for the people. People were displaced and killed during the war and young children were conscripted to the war against their wishes. The rebellion was against the Confucian ideologies that ruled the life of many people. Du Fu saw the suffering of the people and narrated his feelings through his poems. During his life time, Du Fu was not greatly appreciated. His stylistic innovations were uncommon at the time and even up to date, critics still consider them daring and bizarre. During the ninth century his poetry became greatly appreciated and it was in the Song era that his poetry reached its peak. Du Fu together with Li Bai and Wang Lei were regarded as representatives of Confucian (Du Fu), Daoist (Li Bai) and Buddhist (Wang Lei) ideologies of the Chinese culture. His poems have been praised for containing aspects of nationalism and socialism. He has also been praised for his stylistic use of the people’s language. In China, Du Fu poems have had such a great impact that his influence can be compared to that of Shakespeare in the English continents. All over the ages, numerous Chinese poets have been influenced by his work and style. His influence outside the country has also been impressive with poets from Japan and the western world admiring and emulating his style. Du Fu was able to present the situation of the war to the Chinese society and the entire world. He wrote in a language that could be understood by the common man and presented the problems faced by the society as a result of the war. He personified the Confucian culture that existed at this time and defended the ideals of duty and honor. He believed the war was a travesty that was against human value and thus did not fear to rebuke it and present its horrifying impacts. Works Cited Chang, H. C. Chinese Literature 2: Nature Poetry. New York: Columbia University Press, 1977 Cooper, Arthur. Li Po and Tu Fu: Poems. London: Viking Press, 1986 Chou, Eva Shan. Reconsidering Tu Fu: Literary Greatness and Cultural Context. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1995. Ebrey, Patricia Buckley. The Cambridge Illustrated History of China. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1996. Hung, William. Tu Fu: Chinas Greatest Poet. Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1952 Lee, Joseph J. "Tu Fus Art Criticism and Han Kans Horse Painting". Journal of the American Oriental Society 90.3 (1970): 449–461. Owen, Stephen. An Anthology of Chinese Literature: Beginnings to 1911. Chicago: W.W. Norton & Company, 1997. Patchanee, Tangyuenyong. Chinese War Poetry of the Tang Dynasty: A Discursive Study. Beijing: Jiefangjun Chubanshe, 2005. Seth, Vikram. Three Chinese Poets: Translations of Poems by Wang Wei, Li Bai, and Du Fu. NY: Faber & Faber, 1992. Watson, Burton . The Selected Poems of Du Fu. Washington: Columbia University Press, 2002. Young, David. Du Fu: A Life in Poetry. Chicago: Random House, 2008. Read More

Over 49, 000 poems written by about 2, 200 Chinese authors from the Tang period still exist up to today (Patchanee 24). During the Tang Period, anyone who wished to pass the imperial exams had to perfect their skills in the composition of poems. Not only was poetry competitive during this time but also poetry contest was an integral part in entertaining esteemed guest during banquets and other social gatherings of the elite class. During the Tang period, gushi and jintishi (regulated verse) were the popular poem styles used (Owen 58).

Out of all historical eras of China, Poems written during the Tang period remain the most popular. The Tang poems were greatly emulated by future dynasties beginning with the Song Dynasty. It was during the Song Dynasty that Du Fu who lived between 712 and 770 was formally recognized as the greatest poet from the Tang era (Hung 15). Du Fu Most of the information about Du Fu was collected from his poems. Du Fu was born in 712 in an unknown city near Henan province. He was raised by his aunt as his mother died shortly after giving birth (Chou 12).

His father was a scholar official and as such, Du-Fu was enrolled in the standard education for a civil servant. His education entailed the study of Confucian philosophy, poetry and history. In the mid-730s, he took the civil service examination in Chang’an but to his surprise, he failed to pass. A lot of theories have been forwarded on the reason why the great literary master failed to pass a simple historical and poetry exam. Hung (18) forwards that Du Fu failed to the dense nature of his early poetry works while Chou (15) argues that his failure was mainly because he did not nurture connections I the capital.

After failing his exam, Du-Fu travelling to neighboring towns and cities. When his father died in 740, Du-Fu had a chance to enter into the civil service to the high ranking of his father. However, he passed on this chance and left it to one of his step brothers. He spent the next couple of years in Luoyang area carrying out manual labor to survive. In 744, Du Fu met Li Bai for the first time forming an instant friendship. The meeting with Li Bai was a very big influence on Du Fu. According to Young, this meeting was an important decisive element in Du Fu artistic development (24).

Du Fu returned to the capital, Chang’an in 747 to retake his civil service examinations. He was however unsuccessful again but this failure because the chief minister Li Lin-Fu failed all the candidates in order to ensure that he did not have any rivals for his post (Chou 16). Du Fu gave up on the exams and never took them again. In 752, Du Fu married and by 1757 he had a total of five children. In 755, Du Fu was appointed to the post of Registrar of the Right Commandant’s office. The same year he was appointed to his post was the year that the An Lushan Rebellion started (Chou, 18).

The rebellion ran for eight straight years until it was suppressed. The war caused a lot of tension and strife resulting in misery and death to very many people. During the rebellion, Du Fu lived a nomadic life being forced to constantly move in order to avoid the impacts of the war and the associated famine. It was during this period that Du Fu emerged as a poet. He looked at the suffering and fears of his family and friend and turned them into theme for his poems. Du Fu Poems In his poems, Du Fu drew a lot from Confucian ideologies.

In Confucianism, all poets are responsible for cultivating and criticizing the society, as well as acting as the voice of morality (Patchanee, 22). During the An Lushan rebellion, there were a lot of deaths, misery and suffering in the Chinese society. Du Fu embarked at studying and commenting on this situation through his poems. Du Fu’s war poems have inspired a lot of Chinese poets and it has become a universal fact that Du Fu was indeed the greatest poet in Chinese History (Hung 2). During the Tang era, poetry existed in three different styles.

Read More