Du Fu

Modern-day analog: Chief of China's sacred peaks, inspiration for 'View of Mount Tai', Shandong

Standing on the Sacred Summit: 'I Shall Conquer All Mountains!'

Standing atop Mount Tai, 24-year-old Du Fu wrote his magnum opus 'Gazing on Mount Tai': 'I shall ascend the supreme peak, and in one glance look down on all other mountains!' It showcased his boundless youth ambition.

In Luoyang, 33-year-old Du Fu met Li Bai in a legendary brotherhood. Afterward, Du Fu journeyed to Chang'an, seeking official examinations amidst a decaying imperial bureaucracy.

“I shall climb to the very summit, and behold all other mountains looking small beneath me.”

会当凌绝顶，一览众山小。(Huì dāng líng juédǐng, yī lǎn zhòng shān xiǎo.)

Modern-day analog: Eastern imperial metropolis where Du Fu and Li Bai forged their historic friendship, Henan

The Younger Brother Meets His Hero: Du Fu Meets Li Bai

In Luoyang, Du Fu formed a profound friendship with Li Bai and Gao Shi, writing fondly of their days roaming side by side and sharing poetic visions of China's Golden Age.

Aspiring to imperial service, Du Fu traveled to Chang'an, only to face a corrupt examination system under autocratic ministers.

“Ah, Li Bai's poetry stands peerless across the world, his soaring thoughts rise unmatched above the crowd.”

白也诗无敌，飘然思不群。(Bái yě shī wúdí, piāorán sī bùqún.)

Modern-day analog: Tang imperial capital where Du Fu lived in humble poverty for a decade, modern Xi'an

Ten Years of Starvation in the Golden Capital

Stranded in Chang'an for ten agonizing years under corrupt ministers, Du Fu lived in poverty selling herbs, writing the scathing indictment: 'Behind crimson mansion gates, meat and wine spoil with rot; along the frozen highways, dead bones lie unburied.'

In 755, the An Lushan Rebellion erupted. Rebel troops captured Chang'an. Fleeing with his family, Du Fu was captured by rebels and held under armed surveillance in the fallen capital.

“Behind the vermilion gates of the rich, meat and wine rot away; along the frozen roads, the bones of the starved lie cold.”

朱门酒肉臭，路有冻死骨。(Zhūmén jiǔròu chòu, lù yǒu dòngsǐ gǔ.)

Modern-day analog: Captured imperial capital engulfed in wartime smoke and ashes, modern Xi'an

Captured in the Burning Capital: 'The Empire is Broken, but Mountains Remain'

Trapped in occupied Chang'an, Du Fu penned 'Spring View': 'The state is shattered, yet mountains and rivers endure; spring descends on the city, overgrown with grass and trees. Beacon fires rage through three months; a letter from home is worth ten thousand pieces of gold.'

In 757, Du Fu risked execution to escape across the walls in rags, reaching the provisional court at Fengxiang. Appointed Imperial Advisor, his fearless moral critiques quickly alienated the new emperor, leading to exile.

“The nation is shattered, but mountains and rivers endure; spring returns to the city, grass and trees grow dense. Grieving for the times, flowers shed tears; hating this parting, birds startle the heart.”

国破山河在，城春草木深。感时花溅泪，恨别鸟惊心。(Guó pò shānhé zài, chéng chūn cǎomù shēn. Gǎn shí huā jiàn lèi, hèn bié niǎo jīng xīn.)

Modern-day analog: Emperor's temporary wartime headquarters during the An Lushan Rebellion, Shaanxi

Escaping Enemy Lines in Rags to Serve the Loyal Throne

In hemp sandals Du Fu reached the emperor at Fengxiang and was made Reminder; after remonstrating over Fang Guan he was posted to Huazhou. His 'Three Officials and Three Partings' were not written while serving at Fengxiang, but later on the road from Huazhou toward the eastern capital, amid conscription and wartime ruin—crowning him 'Poet Historian'.

As famine and warfare intensified, Du Fu resigned in protest, leading his family across snowy mountain passes into refuge in Gansu.

“In simple hemp sandals I stood before the Emperor; through ragged sleeves my two bare elbows showed.”

麻鞋见天子，衣袖露两肘。(Máxié jiàn tiānzǐ, yīxiù lù liǎngzhǒu.)

Modern-day analog: Rugged western mountain pass along the Silk Road, modern Gansu

Abandoning Official Rank: Digging Wild Yams in Freezing Snow

In Tonggu amidst raging blizzards, Du Fu dug wild tubers from frozen dirt to feed his starving children, composing his heartbreaking 'Seven Songs of Tonggu'.

Fleeing starvation, Du Fu trekked down the precipitous mountain roads into the fertile basin of Chengdu, Sichuan.

“There is a sojourner, a sojourner styled Zimei; white tangled hair hangs past his ears.”

有客有客字子美，白头乱发垂过耳。(Yǒu kè yǒu kè zì Zǐměi, báitóu luànfà chuí guò ěr.)

Modern-day analog: Peaceful bamboo thatched cottage sanctuary, modern Chengdu, Sichuan

'Could I Shelter All Poor Scholars of the World in Ten Thousand Mansions!'

At Chengdu's Thatched Cottage, supported by friends, Du Fu found temporary peace. When autumn gales ripped the thatched roof off, he cried from his shivering bed: 'Could I but shelter the cold scholars of the world in ten thousand great mansions, I would gladly freeze to death in my ruined hut!'

Following the sudden death of his patron Yan Wu, Du Fu boarded a river boat down the Yangtze into Kuizhou (Three Gorges), where he would spend two prolific years.

“Could I but obtain tens of thousands of grand mansions, sheltering all the poor scholars of the world and bringing radiant joy to their faces—standing solid as mountains against wind and rain!”

安得广厦千万间，大庇天下寒士俱欢颜！风雨不动安如山。(Ān dé guǎngshà qiānwàn jiān, dà bì tiānxià hánsì jù huānyán! Fēngyǔ bù dòng ān rú shān.)

Modern-day analog: Majestic Qutang Gorge entrance where Du Fu composed his greatest Autumn Meditations, Chongqing

The Crown of All Chinese Verse: 'Endless Falls the Boundless Autumn Leaves'

In Kuizhou by the roaring Three Gorges, Du Fu reached the pinnacle of classical Chinese verse, composing 'Climbing High': 'Boundless rustling leaves fall continuously; the endless Yangtze roars ceaselessly along.' It is hailed as the greatest regulated verse poem in history.

In 768, Du Fu sailed out of the Gorges onto Dongting Lake and Yueyang in Hunan, spending his final years floating on a wooden river barge.

“Boundless fall the autumn leaves, rustling softly down; endless rolls the mighty Yangtze, surging ever on.”

无边落木萧萧下，不尽长江滚滚来。(Wúbiān luòmù xiāoxiāo xià, bùjìn Chángjiāng gǔngǔn lái.)

Modern-day analog: Fabled lakeside pavilion overlooking the vast expanse of Dongting Lake, Hunan

Ascending the Legendary Yueyang Tower beside the Vast Lake

At Yueyang Tower overlooking boundless Dongting Lake, elderly and ill, Du Fu gazed north toward wartime frontiers and wept, embodying ultimate patriotic compassion.

Floating southward on the Xiang River, destitute and chronically ill, Du Fu spent his final days on his lone boat.

“Warhorses still gallop north of the mountain passes; leaning against the pavilion rail, my tears flow in ceaseless streams.”

戎马关山北，凭轩涕泗流。(Róngmǎ guānshān běi, píng xuān tìsì liú.)

Modern-day analog: Gentle waterways of the Xiang River where the Poet-Sage spent his final days, Hunan

Passing Away in a Drifting Skiff: The Soul That Warmed All of Humanity

In the winter of 770, Du Fu died aboard a small river boat on the Xiang River at age 58. Revered as China's 'Sage of Poetry', his compassionate soul and monumental poetry shine eternally in world literature.

“Battle blood still flows as before; the roaring march of armies shakes the earth to this very day.”

战血流依旧，军声动至今。(Zhàn xuè liú yījiù, jūn shēng dòng zhìjīn.)