He finally knew that his position was not in the official career, but among the people. He can no longer follow his family's instructions and become an official or prime minister in order to honor his ancestors. He wants to be the Grand Historian of this era, using the wolf-brush pen in his hand to record history, write a biography for the times, and remind those who come after him not to make the same mistakes again. It is of even greater significance that Du Fu can come out of a bureaucratic family. Although being without an official means you are light-weighted, being without an official also means that you have no way to make a living. Du Fu could only rely on relatives and friends, to put it more elegantly, for help. To put it bluntly, it is "begging for food." He led his family on the long journey west to Qinzhou (now Tianshui, Gansu). Qinzhou is located on the west side of Longshan, a branch of Liupan Mountain. It is an important town in the northwest and the gateway from the mainland to the Western Regions. It is 780 miles away from Chang'an. There is an isolated city there, surrounded by mountains, where Qiang and Han people live together, and their customs are quite different. To reach Qinzhou, Du Fu and his family had to climb Longshan Mountain, which is more than 2,000 meters high. You can imagine the difficulties and obstacles. Longshan Mountain, which runs north to south, divides the Longxi Plateau and the Weihe Plain into two parts. Du Fu and his family crossed Longshan Mountain in fear, and along the way they had to constantly inquire whether there was any war in the western region. After experiencing countless dangers, they finally arrived in Qinzhou and lived in a simple residence in the city with rain-soaked curtains, short and narrow eaves, low walls, and long grass in front of the door. However, famine was also waiting for his family in Qinzhou. From Du Fu's poems, we know the plight of his family: no rice to cook, no clothes to cover their bodies. When Du Fu was in trouble, he suddenly had a strange idea: If only the bitter cypress branches and the bright clouds from the sky could satisfy his hunger, the children would not be hungry. Du Fu's fantasy, like his poems about joy in suffering, makes people feel even more sad and sympathetic. At this time, a guy named "Good Master" from Tonggu County (today's Chengxian County, Gansu Province) in the south of Qinzhou sent a letter inviting Du Fu to Tonggu for unknown reasons. Du Fu thought that the climate there was mild and the products were rich, which could not only fill the hungry belly but also save cotton clothes. So he took his family on a carriage and left Qinzhou, embarking on the more difficult and dangerous road southward. The first stop of the journey was Chigu. Going south from Chigu, we entered steep mountains. There were piles of rocks everywhere, and there were only two ruts that we could barely pass through. The mountain was deep and windy, and there was no human habitation at sunset, so the child was already so hungry that he began to cry. Du Fu was anxious. The village in front was still very far away, and the faint smoke was out of reach. Only then did he realize that it was too dangerous for him to drag his son and daughter on the road so recklessly. The next step is to cross the Tietang Gorge, where the mountain gorge is extremely dangerous. Du Fu described the true appearance of Tietang Gorge in his poem "Tietang Gorge": The color of the mountain walls is all blue and black, like condensed fine iron. The snow was thick. At this time, even the car could not be used. The family was frightened and looked miserable, supporting each other step by step in the canyon. There was a long ice road at the bottom, and even the horse bones were almost broken by the frost. The family was full of old, weak, sick and young people? Du Fu felt even more depressed. Despite this, the family who had escaped from death finally arrived in Tonggu. Du Fu provided no living assistance, but Du Fu fell completely into the abyss of life of hunger and cold. In order to prevent his children from starving to death, Du Fu had no choice but to drag his white-haired and weak body to pick up wild oak trees in the cold and sunset valleys. The real life was so cruel that Du Fu could only sing lamentations in the wilderness. Although Du Fu had many friends as a member of the common people, the life of being dependent on others made it difficult for this man who had always aspired to be a prime minister. Can he feel at ease? Due to the helplessness of reality, Du Fu had no choice but to drag his sick body and trek to Chengdu again with his family. In Chengdu, with the help of his friend Yan Wu, Du Fu finally found a thatched cottage to live in. The unspectacular thatched cottage later became almost synonymous with Du Fu. When the poet first lived in the thatched cottage, he was able to find such a place of residence during the war, and it was on the bank of Huanhua River, accompanied by running water. He was satisfied. The scenery of Jinjiang was like a soothing comfort for him. He could live in harmony with his neighbors, visit the hermits in the villa, collect taro and corn in the fields, and watch the people jumping on the steps. Birds forage for food, swinging in small boats in the shallow autumn water, leaning against the firewood gate to send friends back under the clear moonlight. We are delighted to see that as long as the poet has a temporary shelter, he will give us a place to stay. Painting a picture of infinite warmth, his four quatrains later became oral poetry classics, bringing infinite beauty and enjoyment to future generations. In addition, Du Fu was still in this thatched cottage in Chengdu. , wrote a lot of poems about the country and the people. However, the peace was only temporary. Although the Anshi Rebellion ended in 763 AD, the collapse of the Tang Dynasty was still as irreversible as a stone rolling down the mountain. Internal troubles came again, and warlords or semi-separatist regimes generally appeared in the country. At this time, political corruption and excessive expropriation by officials continued unabated. Internal troubles and external troubles were added to the situation - Tubo attacked Chang'an, forcing Daizong to flee in panic. The center of Shu is a land of abundance and a battleground for military strategists - it is not only a focus of Tubo's offensive, but also the place where warlord separatism is most likely to occur. During the interval between Yan Wu's two campaigns to suppress Shu, a serious military rebellion occurred. , Du Fu was forced to flee Chengdu, wandered with his family again, and came to Kuizhou.
Du Fu lived in Kuizhou for less than two years, but moved four times. Life was still extremely difficult. Two years later, Du Fu's family returned to Chengdu from Kuizhou. But just a few days after they settled down, Du Fu's good friend Yan Wu passed away, and chaos broke out in Shu. Du Fu completely lost his support in life in Chengdu. He had no choice but to lead his family on a small boat and continue his wandering life. Du Fu originally wanted to go east along the Yangtze River out of Sichuan, but due to the double obstacles of disease and war, they were stranded here for a long time. When he was 57 years old, Du Fu's family finally got out of the Three Gorges by boat, but they were still wandering on the waterways in Hubei and Hunan. Two years later, Du Fu, who had no fixed abode, died on a boat due to poverty and illness, ending the miserable wandering life of a generation of poets. A person who had the ambition of being a "Taiping Prime Minister" became unemployed, a beggar, and a wanderer. Du Fu's life was a tragic life. However, he still did not put down the pen in his hand while wandering like this. The shocking poems we read today were written by him during his wandering. It is really incredible to say. Du Fu is a poet who writes with his life. His rhythm is the rhythm of his heartbeat, so he can arouse the hearts of future generations of readers. His melody is the melody of life, so that future generations can use his poetry to keep warm after thousands of years, just like holding the warm palm of an elder.
When we are exhausted, we can draw strength from his poems, just like we get comfort from the kindness of our teacher...