Looking at the rising clouds in the mountains, my heart is cleansed, and my eyes are tracking the returning birds as they disappear into the forest.
From "Wang Yue" by Du Fu, a poet of the Tang Dynasty
Original text of the poem: How is Dai Zongfu? Qilu is still young. The clock of creation is beautiful, and the yin and yang cut off the dawn. There are clouds growing in the chest, and birds returning to the canthus. You will be at the top of the mountain, and you will have a panoramic view of the mountains.
Explanation of the poem: Mount Tai is so majestic, and the green mountains can’t be seen to the edge. Nature condenses all the bells and spirits here, and the south and north of the mountain seem to be divided into dusk and day. Looking at the rising clouds in the mountains cleanses my soul, and I follow the birds returning at dusk into the mountains and forests. I must climb to the top of Mount Tai and overlook the mountains, and the mountains will appear extremely small.
Mount Taishan is very famous and has profound cultural connotations. Many literati and poets of all ages came here to visit and left many poems and inscriptions. But since the publication of Du Fu's poem "Wang Yue", when people mention Mount Tai, the first thing that comes to mind is often this masterpiece. Today, there are four stone carvings of the poem "Looking at the Mountains" on Mount Tai, and there are even more places that excerpted its verses.
"Wang Yue" was written in the 24th year of Kaiyuan reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty (736). Yue: A high mountain is called a mountain. This refers specifically to Dongyue Mount Tai. The young Du Fu enthusiastically praised the majesty of Mount Tai with this poem, and at the same time expressed his own ambition.
Du Fu (AD 712-AD 770), whose courtesy name was Zimei, also called himself Shaoling Ye Lao. Han nationality, native of Xiangyang, Gong County, Henan Province (now Gongyi, Henan Province). A great realist poet in the Tang Dynasty, he and Li Bai were collectively known as "Li Du". In order to distinguish them from the other two poets Li Shangyin and Du Mu, known as "Little Li Du", Du Fu and Li Bai are also collectively known as "Big Li Du", and Du Fu is often called "Old Du".
Du Fu had a profound influence on Chinese classical poetry. He was called the "Sage of Poetry" by later generations, and his poems were called the "History of Poetry". Later generations called him Du Shiyi and Du Gongbu, and also called him Du Shaoling and Du Thatched Cottage. Du Fu created such masterpieces as "Spring Look", "Northern Expedition", "Three Officials" and "Three Farewells".
In 759, Du Fu abandoned his official position and went to Sichuan. Although he escaped the war and lived a relatively stable life, he still cared about the common people and national affairs. Although Du Fu is a realist poet, he also has a wild and uninhibited side. It is not difficult to see Du Fu's heroic spirit from his famous work "Song of the Eight Immortals in Drinking".
The core of Du Fu's thoughts is the Confucian benevolent government. He has the grand ambition of "bringing the kings to Yao and Shun, and then making the customs pure." Although Du Fu was not well-known during his lifetime, he later became famous and had a profound impact on both Chinese and Japanese literature. About 1,500 poems by Du Fu have been preserved, most of which are collected in "Du Gongbu Collection".