Source: Tang Du Fu's "Dan Qing gives General Cao Ba"
Selected passages:
Jiang Caojun is a descendant of Cao Cao's descendants, but now he is reduced to a poor family.
The era of heroic separatism is gone forever, and Cao Jiawen's chapter is still in your hands.
In calligraphy, your first master, Mrs. Wei, just didn't surpass it.
Indulge in painting, you know that the age of youth is coming. In fact, wealth and status are floating away like clouds to me.
Translation:
General Cao is a descendant of Cao Cao, Emperor Wu of Wei, but now he has become a poor man in Shu Ren. The era of heroic separatism is gone forever, but Cao's style is still there. In order to learn calligraphy, you should learn from Mrs. Wei first. You are only more annoying than General Wang Xizhi. You have been specializing in painting all your life. You don't know that you are getting old, but prosperity is like a cloud in the sky for you.
Poetry appreciation
This poem was written in the second year of Zong Guangde (764), when the painter Cao Ba also lived in Chengdu because of the Anshi Rebellion. This poem is a biography written by Du Fu for Cao Ba. This poem narrates Cao Ba's life experience and frustrations, praises his artistic achievements, and expresses the poet's own indignation. Because the poet describes the fate of the characters with the scenes of the times, the profound sense of history of the poem is greatly enhanced.
The whole poem consists of 40 sentences, one paragraph of eight sentences and five paragraphs of * * * sentences. The first paragraph describes Cao Ba's family background and his own inheritance of his ancestor Cao Cao's literary talent, calligraphy and painting, as well as the rise and fall of his social status. The second paragraph describes his skill of drawing people; The third and fourth paragraphs depict horses as the main peak or center of this poem; In the fifth paragraph, he wrote about his unfortunate experience and feelings of injustice in the world.
Among them, "Loyal to your art, you don't know your age, and Ren Fugui's fame is like a cloud" praised Cao Ba's extraordinary character, devoted himself to painting, put aside wealth and splendor, and wrote exquisite lyrics.