Du Fu’s earliest poem, Gu Nong provides insights based on Hong Ye’s analysis!
Gu Nong: Du Fu's earliest poem
Gu Nong
There are more than 1,400 poems by the "Poetry Saint" Du Fu (712~770) in existence. Most of them are works after he was forty years old; in fact, Du Fu started writing poetry very early. According to what he later said in the poem "Zhuang You", he started at the age of seven ("Thinking at seven years old is strong," "Ode to the Phoenix") By the age of fourteen or fifteen, he had already "traveled to the calligraphy field" and emerged in the local poetry circle; later, "Li Yong asked for acquaintance, Wang Han was willing to be a neighbor" ("Twenty-Two Rhymes for Wei Zuocheng") ) Such a great reputation. Both Li and Wang were famous for a while.
So the status of Du Fu's early works and which ones are the earliest ones have become a matter of great concern to readers.
The most popular annotated version of Du's poems, Qiu Zhao'ao's "Du Shaoling's Collection of Detailed Annotations" (or "Du's Detailed Annotations of Poems"), is arranged by year. The first three poems in Volume 1 are: "You Longmen Fengxian Temple" ", "Looking at the Mountain" and "Climbing the Yanzhou Tower" are generally believed to be the earliest extant Du Fu poems; and the famous older generation scholar Mr. Hong Ye (1893 ~ 1980) wrote in the book "Du Fu: China's Greatest Poet" Instead of taking this theory, we instead take "A Night Banquet at Zuoshizhuang" as the first poem, and conclude that its writing time was the late spring of the 23rd year of Kaiyuan (735). According to the poem:
The wind in the forest is slender and the moon is falling, and the clothes are dewy and the music is playing quietly. There are flower paths with dark water and spring stars leading to thatched cottage. Examining books burns a candle short, reading a sword leads to a long cup. After hearing Wu Yong's poem, I will never forget the meaning of the boat.
Mr. Hong analyzed:
Du Fu has been traveling in the south for a long time, maybe a few years. He may have learned enough Wu dialect to be able to understand Wu Yong... …I tend to think that if this poem were dated to the late spring of 735, when the southern journey ended, it would become extremely meaningful. (Translated by Zeng Xiangbo, Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House, December 2011 edition, pages 27-28)
He added:
Twenty years ago, I followed the comments of my predecessors, It is believed that none of Du Fu's poems from 712 to 735 have been preserved. I have now changed this view and dated the poem to 735. Because the poem mentions the local dialect of Wu ("Wu Yong"), this leads me to believe that this poem was written during the period of traveling to the southeast. It might even have been written 735 years ago. Du Fu's "checking books" and "reading swords" may be related to his upcoming return to prepare for the imperial examination. I even think... "The Year of Li Gui in Jiangnan" is best dated before 735. (op. cit., page 27)
Mr. Hong’s book was written in English in the United States and published in 1952; later in 1962, he published it in "How I Write Du Fu" The article further points out that the poem "Meeting Li Guinian in the South of the Yangtze River" "should have been written when I visited Wu and Yue. At first, influenced by my predecessors, I still included this poem in Hunan Poetry; I also suspected that the word 'Jiangnan' or 'Hunan' was wrong. , thinking more calmly, I feel that not only is the word "Jiangnan" correct, but also the poem's appearance is lively and the charm is fluttering. It is not like Du Fu's poems in Hunan, which were many sad and gloomy, but can be compared with Du Fu's "Yue Nu" when he was about 23 years old. The world is white and the mirror lake is cool in May. At that time, Du Fu was traveling in the south of the Yangtze River, which should be earlier than "The Night Banquet at Zuo's Village" (op. citation, page 362)
This is the case. Mr. Hong Ye placed Du Fu's earliest poems in his youth when he was roaming Wuyue, when the poet was in his twenties.
Mr. Hong Ye’s "Du Fu" was not translated into Chinese until sixty years later, but it is still very innovative to read, especially the examination of the year of the poem and his life, which is very in-depth. The detailed discussion seems to be more thoughtful in many details than Mr. Wen Yiduo's "Mr. Shaoling's Chronicle Notes". The Chinese translation is written by an expert and is clear and fluent, making it very comfortable to read. It also has several translator's notes, which are of a very high level, and the appendices are abundant, making it especially convenient for reference.
Mr. Hong had previously written a work called "Du Shi Yin De" (1940), and was very familiar with the text of Du Shi's poems, which laid an excellent foundation for further research. That kind of "reliable lamp" type of index, that is, a word-for-word index, is actually a powerful tool for research, because the original work of Du's poems can be found based on any word, and relying on the catalogues at the back of the book, it can also You can learn about the volume of his poems in the original version of the guide (Guo Zhida's "Jiujia Annotation of Du Shi" in the Baoqing edition of the Southern Song Dynasty) and more than 20 other editions of Du's collection. Such a reference book is very troublesome to compile, but very convenient to use. Mr. Hong presided over the affairs of Yenching University in his early years and made significant contributions.
However, it is not enough to use historical research methods to study the ancient poems. Because Du Fu’s poems involve many current affairs, it can be roughly inferred that he was written quite a lot of time, but it is still very difficult to date the poems one by one. Difficult, or not necessarily necessary. For example, whether the two poems "Meeting Li Guinian in the South of the Yangtze River" and "A Night Banquet at Zuo's Village" must have been composed when he was roaming in Wuyue, and therefore are the earliest extant works, it is still difficult to say in my opinion, especially the former. His poem says:
It is common in King Qi's house, and Cui Jiutang has heard it several times.
It is the beautiful scenery in the south of the Yangtze River, and you will meet again when the flowers are falling.
When Du Fu was roaming in Wuyue, he was young and had not yet made his debut. He, Li Fan, the king of Qi, Cui Di (Cui Jiu), the secretary supervisor, and other big figures in the upper echelons of the capital may not recognize him, let alone be familiar with him; therefore, It is basically impossible that this poem was composed in his youth.
It is possible that the poem that mentions "hearing Wu Yong" was composed when he was still in Wuyue, but it is not certain that he could not "hear Wu Yong" in other places. Coming to "check books" just before the exam is like some current candidates who are cramming, and it does not seem to be like Du Fu's style; when traveling in other places, it is very cumbersome to bring many scroll books - from this point of view, "The Night Banquet Left" "Shizhuang" was probably not written in the "late spring of 735 when the southern tour ended", but more likely a little later.
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