The Anshi Rebellion is over. After all, this is a happy thing for the people who have suffered from war and long for stability. The poet Du Fu, who was living in exile in Zizhou (now Santai, Sichuan), was even more delighted and burst into tears when he heard the news.
Du Fu, also known as Zimei. Like Li Bai, he is one of the most famous poets in the Tang Dynasty. In the history of literature, they are collectively called "Li Du". Du Fu was originally from Gong County, Henan Province. He grew up in a declining bureaucratic family. He studied hard since he was a child, traveled to many famous mountains and rivers, and wrote many excellent poems. When he was in his thirties, he met Li Bai in Luoyang. Du Fu is eleven years younger than Li Bai. The two people have different personalities, but their similar interests and hobbies make them close friends.
Later, he went to Chang'an to take the Jinshi examination. At that time, the treacherous prime minister Li Linfu was in power. Li Linfu hated scholars the most, fearing that these scholars from the lower classes would become officials and discuss government affairs and treat him badly. It was unfavorable, so he colluded with the examiners and deceived Xuanzong, saying that the candidates who took the exam did poorly this time and none of them were qualified. Tang Xuanzong was wondering when Li Linfu wrote another congratulatory memorial, saying that this incident proved that the emperor was wise and talented people had been appointed, and there were no more talented people left among the people.
At that time, scholars all regarded the imperial examination as a way to find a way out. Needless to say, Du Fu felt frustrated when he suffered such a setback. He lived a life of poverty and misery in Chang'an, seeing with his own eyes the luxury and luxury of the powerful and the misery of the poor suffering from cold and hunger. Unable to suppress his indignation, he used poetry to complain about this injustice.
"The wine and meat in Zhumen stinks, and the bones on the road are frozen to death" is the immortal poem he wrote.
Du Fu stayed in Chang'an for ten years. Tang Xuanzong had just granted him an official position, and the Anshi Rebellion broke out. People in Chang'an area fled one after another. Du Fu's family was also among the refugees. After going through a lot of hardships, they finally found a rural area and settled down. At this time, when he heard the news that Emperor Suzong of the Tang Dynasty had ascended the throne in Lingwu, he left home and went to Suzong. Unexpectedly, he encountered rebels on the way and was captured in Chang'an.
Chang'an has fallen into the hands of the rebels. The rebels are burning, killing and looting everywhere. Palaces and houses are burning in the fire. Some officials of the Tang Dynasty surrendered, and some were sent to Luoyang by the rebels. After Du Fu was captured in Chang'an, the leader of the rebel army saw that he did not look like a high official, so he let him go.
The next year, Du Fu escaped from Chang'an and found out that Tang Suzong had arrived in Fengxiang (today's Fengxiang, Shaanxi), so he rushed to Fengxiang to see Suzong. At that time, Du Fu was so poor that he didn't even have a decent set of clothes. He was wearing a shabby coat with his elbows exposed, and a pair of old hemp shoes on his feet. Emperor Suzong of the Tang Dynasty expressed his appreciation for Du Fu's long journey to join the imperial court and assigned him the official position of Zuo Shiyi.
Zuo Shiyi was an admonishing officer. Although Tang Suzong gave Du Fu this official position, he had no intention of reusing him. Du Fu, however, took matters seriously. Soon after, Prime Minister Fang Guan (guǎn) was dismissed by Tang Suzong. Du Fu believed that Fang Guan was very talented and should not be dismissed, so he wrote a memorial to remonstrate with Suzong. This offended Suzong. Fortunately, someone said something nice in front of Suzong of the Tang Dynasty, so he was allowed to go home.
After the Tang army recaptured Chang'an, Du Fu also returned to Chang'an with many officials. Emperor Suzong of the Tang Dynasty sent him to Huazhou (today's Huaxian County, Shaanxi Province) as a minor official in charge of sacrifices and school work. Du Fu came to Huazhou feeling frustrated. At that time, although Chang'an and Luoyang were recaptured by the government troops, the Anshi rebels had not yet been eliminated, and the war was still fierce. The Tang army recruited strong men everywhere to supplement its strength, which made the people unable to live. One day, Du Fu passed by Shihao Village (in the southeast of today's Shaanxi County, Henan Province). It was already very late. He stayed at a poor family's house, and the people who received him were an old farmer and his wife. In the middle of the night, when he was tossing and turning and unable to sleep, there was a sudden knock on the door. Du Fu listened quietly in the room, only to hear the old man next door climbing over the back wall and escaping. The old woman agreed and opened the door.
The people who entered the house were the officers sent by the government to catch the young men. They shouted loudly and asked the old woman: "Where have your men gone?"
The old woman said with a cry. : "My three children have all gone to Yecheng to fight. Two days ago, I received a letter from my son saying that two brothers have died on the battlefield.
There is only one daughter-in-law and a nursing mother in the family. .Grandson. Who else do you want?"
The old woman pleaded a lot, but the officer still refused to give up. The old woman had no choice but to be taken away by the guards and sent to the military camp to do hard labor for the soldiers.
At dawn, when Du Fu left the house, the old farmer was the only one to see him off.
Du Fu saw this miserable scene with his own eyes and felt very uneasy, so he wrote a poem about it called "Shi Hao Li". When he was in Huazhou, he wrote six such poems one day after another, which together were called "Three Officials and Three Farewells" ("Shihao Officials", "Tongguan Officials", "Xin'an Officials", and "Newlywed Farewell") , "Farewell to the Elderly", "Farewell to the Homeless"). Since most of Du Fu's poems describe the suffering of the people during the Anshi Rebellion and reflect the process of the Tang Dynasty from prosperity to decline, people call his poems "the history of poetry".
The next year, he resigned from his official position in Huazhou.
Then, there was a severe drought in Guanzhong. Du Fu was too poor to survive there, so he took his family and fled to Chengdu. With the help of his friends, he built a thatched cottage by the Huanhua Creek in the western suburbs of Chengdu, where he passed away. Nearly four years of seclusion. Later, because his friend died and he had no one to rely on in Chengdu, he took his whole family and fled eastward. In 770 AD, he died in a small boat in the Xiang River due to poverty and disease.
After his death, in order to commemorate this great poet, people preserved the place where he lived in Chengdu. This is the famous "Du Fu Thatched Cottage".