Among Du Fu's preserved poems, there are only fifteen poems related to Li Bai. Most of them are full of sincere longing for Li Bai and enthusiastic praise of Li Bai's poetry and art. Among the poems of Li Bai that have been preserved to this day, there are only four poems related to Du Fu. They do not miss and praise Li Bai as much as Du Fu does, and there are even fewer words of praise. Many people therefore believe that Du Fu is a fanatical admirer of Li Bai, while Li Bai does not think highly of Du Fu, who is eleven years younger than him, and does not appreciate Du Fu's poetry and art.
I think this view cannot withstand scrutiny.
First of all, Li Bai's few poems related to Du Fu have revealed some unusual friendship for Du Fu. Please read: "Don't get drunk with Lu wine, and sing songs together to regain your love. Thinking of the king is like a river, sending a message to the southern expedition." ("Send a message to Du Fu from the sand dune city") "We are separated from each other for thousands of miles, and I miss you in the room at a loss." ("Autumn") "A banquet at the Yao Temple Pavilion in Rilu County to bid farewell to Du Buque and Fan Shiyu") "After a few days of drunken farewell, I climbed to the pool platform. When will the golden bottles open again on Shimen Road?... The flying canopies are far away, and the cups in their hands are empty." ("Send off Du Erfu at the East Stone Gate of Lu County")
Secondly, from the historical facts of Li and Du's friendship, we can see Li Bai's appreciation for Du Fu. In the summer of the third year of Tianbao (July 44), after Li Bai and Du Fu met in Luoyang, they traveled to the Liang and Song Dynasties with Gao Shi in the autumn of that year, and went to the blowing and piano platforms. ", "Going up to the blowing stage in high spirits, nostalgic for the past and looking at the plains" (Du Fu's "Qinghuai"), they are congenial. In the autumn of the following year, Du Fu went to Yanzhou, just as Li Bai also returned to Donglu. The two traveled together, "living drunkenly in the autumn under the quilt, walking hand in hand with each other in the sun" (Du Fu's "Seclusion of Fan Shi with Li Twelve Bai"), and they were brothers and sisters. . Li Bai's "Farewell to Du Bu Que and Fan Shiyu at the Banquet at the Yao Temple Pavilion in Lu County in Autumn" and "Farewell to Du Erfu at the East Stone Gate of Lu County" were probably written at the end of this trip together and on the occasion of farewell. Some scholars believe that Li and Du later met in Chang'an at a place called Fanke Mountain, which is the meeting place recorded in Li Bai's poem "Meeting Du Fu at the Top of Fanke Mountain". If Du Fu was not a poet that Li Bai admired, it would be hard to imagine that Li Bai would drink, play, and linger with him like this, and then write such affectionate poetic letters after parting.
The small number of Li Bai's poems about Du Fu may be related to the fact that Li Bai's poems are more lost. In the preface to "Jin Diao Fu Biao" written in the ninth year of Tianbao (750), Du Fu said: "... he stopped writing poetry at the age of seven, and he has been writing for forty years, with more than a thousand poems." It can be seen that the number of Du Fu's existing works ( More than 1,400 poems), far less than the number he actually created. In contrast, the preservation situation of Li Bai's poems is even less ideal. It is generally believed that because Du Fu already had a collection of poems circulating in the Jiangnan area during his lifetime, and Du Fu personally edited his own poems in his later years, fewer works after middle age were lost, and most of the works he was satisfied with have been preserved. Li Bai was not so lucky. Li Bai finally died of illness at the hands of his uncle Li Yangbing, who served as the county magistrate of Dangtu (in today's Anhui). Li Yangbing said in the preface to Li Bai's "Thatched Cottage Collection": "Since something happened in the Central Plains, I have been in hiding for eight years. At that time, I wrote eighty-nine out of ten. What is preserved today is all obtained by others." It can be seen that Li Bai has a lot of works. The works were lost. Among Li Bai's lost works, it is difficult to guarantee that there are no poems related to Du Fu.
Even if the poems written by Li Bai and related to Du Fu are really less than the poems written by Du Fu and related to Li Bai, it is not enough to explain that when Li Du dated, Du Fu had a shaved head and a hot head. This has a lot to do with the differences in thought, character, and creative characteristics of Li Bai and Du Fu. Du Fu's thoughts are deeply influenced by Confucianism, which advocates benevolence, love, filial piety and brotherhood, and Li Bai's thoughts are deeply influenced by Taoism, which pursues independence. Du Fu's character is sincere and outgoing, while Li Bai's character is elegant and introverted. Du Fu likes to record life in his poems, and Li Bai likes to meditate on gods. Differences in these three aspects may lead to completely different attitudes and ways of reflecting friendship in Li Du's poems.
In fact, the phenomenon that Du Fu writes more about Li Bai and Li Bai writes less about Du Fu can also be interpreted in another way: Although Li Bai is older than Du Fu, in front of Li Bai, Du Fu plays the role of elder brother and Bole. , he was concerned about Li Bai's situation and praised Li Bai's talent. Du Fu's praise of Li Bai's poetic talent was intended to vindicate Li Bai's grievances and extend Li Bai's reputation. Du Fu's poem "Missing" written during the Qinzhou period: "I haven't seen Li Sheng for a long time. It's really sad to pretend to be mad. Everyone wants to kill, but I only pity the talent. Thousands of quick poems, a glass of wine. Kuangshan Reading Center, returning with a white head. ." It is not difficult for us to read Du Fu's love, protection, and aggrieved feelings for Li Bai from the bottom of his heart.