Recently, the BBC launched a documentary about poetry, Du Fu: China's Greatest Poet, which has attracted attention around the world. In the film, BBC veteran host and writer historian Michael Wood visits China. He followed du Fu's footsteps in his life and traced the poet's ups and downs. BBC invited Sir Ian McLean, a British national treasure actor and actor of Gandalf in "The Lord of the Rings", to recite in English 15 translations of Du Fu's poems, including "Grand Tour" and "Watching the Sword Dance of the Disciples of The Great Lady of the Gongsun Dynasty". The film also invites Harvard Sinologist Yuwen So-an, Chinese University Professor Zeng Xiangbo, and Oxford University Dr. Liu Taotao to bring professional interpretations from multiple perspectives.
The beauty of Du Fu's poetry is full of comforting power, and in the book "Du Fu Commentary" published by Nanjing University Press, Professor Mo Lifeng, when arguing that Li Bai and Du Fu, two poets, were "both talented in eight buckets and rich in five cars", once took Du Fu's creation of "Guan Gongsun Da Niang Disciple Dancing Sword Instrument Line" as an example. "Du Shi's own artistic attainment is the best proof of the poet's genius."
BBC documentary Du Fu: China's Greatest Poet
Great personality is an indispensable factor in the formation of great poets, and what we call "great personality" not only contains integrity and goodness, but must also contain a broad mind and a spirit of perseverance. The poet Xue Xue said it well: "If you have a heart, you can then carry the wisdom of his temperament", "With a heart, your character will be high." Since the character of the person is high, his cough, one swing and one sprinkle, will be superior. This is especially important for poets in a chaotic world, otherwise, even an upright and kind soul will inevitably be overwhelmed and destroyed by the spiritual burden of the chaotic world, and nothing can be left for the poetry world except heavy sighs. The poet of the Zhongzhong Collection is an example of this. In the third year of Qianyuan (760), Yuan Jie compiled the "Collection of Zhenzhong", which contained the works of seven poets such as Shen Qianyun and Meng Yunqing, and Yuan Jie said in the "Preface to the Collection of Yuanzhong" ("Yuan Cishan Collection" volume VII): "The wind is not prosperous, several thousand years, those who drown in the times, no one in the world!" Whoops, there is no name, no longevity, no sound, no name, no name, no death, who has no cloud!...... Wu Xing Shen Qianyun, standing alone in the customs, strong after drowning, poor old and not confused, more than fifty years. Whatever is written is different from the times. Therefore, there are five or six friends who are born later, who have seen a little teacher effect and can resemble the likeness. Yu Drama! Since Shen Gong and his second and third sons, they have all been upright and unscrupulous, all have been poor for a long time with faithfulness, and they have all died with benevolence. Shen Qianyun and others may indeed have the virtues of "integrity", "faithfulness", and "benevolence" as Yuan Jie said, but most of their poems show personal ups and downs and the separation of relatives and friends, and the mood is very low. Even If Yuan Jie praised Shen Qianyun as "standing alone in the customs and strong behind drowning", what is written in the poem is nothing more than "living in hiding and doing nothing else, and wishing to leave the wind and dust." ...... How to nest with the by, the Son of Heaven is not subject?" ("Shan Zhongzuo", "Zhen Zhongji") "Life has its own destiny, is it not shu in Yu Hu? A lifetime but a mere fifty. Sentences such as "Puzhong Yanhuai" and "Zhenzhong Collection") neither reflect the broad social reality of the people's livelihood and suffering of that era, nor lack the brilliance of ideals, in fact, they have not reached the height of "style and elegance" mentioned by Yuan Jie. This was obviously the result of Shen Qianyun and others lacking the personality spirit of the great Hongyi. Du Fu is not the case, as we say in the second verse, Du Fu has a great personality and a husbandly spirit based on the Confucian spirit, he has a firm belief in his ideals, and no setback or blow can make him completely abandon his faith. Du Fu's life can be said to be extremely poor and miserable, but he was "worried about the world, not for his own gain" (Huang Che's "Xi Poetry", vol. 10), and he took the initiative to bear all the sufferings and sorrows in the world. When he encountered the tragic misfortune of "the first to hear the trumpet, the young son was hungry and dead", his reaction was to "stroke the traces of acid and hard work, and calm the people and fix the crumbs." Silently unemployed, because of the long-distance shu pawn" ("From Beijing to Fengxian County Yong Huai 500 words"), he hoped in the difficult situation of "the bedside house leaks no dry place, the rain foot is like a hemp is not broken", hoping that "There are thousands of rooms in Ande Guangsha, the world is sheltered and the cold people are happy, and the wind and rain do not move like mountains!" ("The Song of the Hut Broken by the Autumn Wind") What a heart! The sages who appear in Du Fu's pen of "Three Gu Frequent Troubles in the World, two dynasties to open the hearts of old ministers" ("Shu Xiang"), the warriors who "swore an oath to the country by their husbands, and were indignant about what they have" (the third of the Nine Songs of the Former Plug), and even Zhu Feng, who "lowered the hundred birds in the net" ("Zhu Fengxing"), and the "righteous birds" who "were anxious and difficult" ("Yi Hu Xing"), are actually self-portraits of poets. This is the key point of Du Fugao's other poets of the same era.
Commentary on Du Fu
Mo Lifeng
Published by Nanjing University Press
In addition, the complexity of Du Fu's personality is also worth noting. Du Fu's personality has an arrogant side, and the New Book of Tang and The Biography of Du Fu contains Yan Wu's desire to kill Du Fu:
Wu is old in the world, treats fu very well, and goes to his home. See it, or not at all. And the sexual impatience was arrogant, tasted drunkenness and climbed the bed, staring at the yue: "Yan Tingzhi has this!" "Wu is also violent, and if the outside is not a curse, it is ranked in the middle." One day, he wanted to kill Fu and Zizhou Assassin Shi Zhangyi, and gathered officials at the gate. The warrior is out, and the crown is hooked to the curtain three. Left and right Bai Qi's mother, running to save the end, killing Yi alone.
This incident originated from the Tang Dynasty Fan Xi's "Yunxi Youhui" volume, and the "Yunxi Youhui" was written during the time of Emperor Tang (874-888) or later, more than a hundred years after Du Fu's death, and there are many rumors and inaccuracies in the book, so posterity mostly believes that this matter is not credible. We believe that the relationship between the poet and Yan Wu is quite close, and he always has a deep sense of gratitude to Yan Wu, which is a lot of evidence in Du Shi, so yan Wu's "desire to kill Fu" must be the novelist's words. However, to say that Du Fu said that "there is such a thing as strict tingling" is not entirely unreasonable, although there is no evidence. Du Fu's "Works of The Pavilion sent by The Reward yan gong" Yun: "Xie An tirelessly ascended to the reward, and Ruan Zhiyan knew the etiquette and the law. Yan Wu's "Baling Answer Du Erjian Remembrance" (Quan Tang Poems, vol. 261) Zeyun: "But the infantry prefer wine, and they also know that Guanglu is the most capable of poetry." Du Fu compared himself to Ruan, Yan Wu also compared himself to Ruan, and it was not too strange that Ruan Zhi of "Etiquette Law Neglect" said a rude word after getting drunk. Although Du Fu was fourteen years older than Yan Wu, he was repeatedly taken care of by Yan Wu after he entered Shu, and he had been a staff member of his staff, so Yu Li should not consider himself an elder. In fact, Du Fu did have a lot of ancestral heritage in terms of arrogance. Du Zhenyan once said: "My article deserves to be qu, Song is an official, and my pen deserves to be the north of Wang Xi!" ("Biography of Tang Caizi", vol. 1) Du Fu regarded himself very highly in literature when he was a teenager who was "debauched and zhao, and Qiu Ma was quite crazy": "Qi Qi Qi Qu Jia Lei, short eyes Cao Liu Wall." ("Grand Tour") in the difficult life of "riding a donkey for thirteen years, traveling to Eat Beijing and Huachun" is still angry with the bull: "Reading books breaks through ten thousand volumes, and the next pen is like a god." Endowed with the material to promote the enemy, the poem looks at the son to build a relative. It is precisely because of his arrogance that he set up the ambition of "being at the top of the mountain and seeing the mountains and small mountains" ("Wangyue") when he was young, and had the courage to climb the peak of classical poetry.
However, du fu's personality has a cautious side. This is not only reflected in his political life, "under the pretext of resignation, but also in the long time. Although he lacks a slanderous posture, he is afraid that the king will be lost" ("Northern Expedition") and "avoiding people burning grass, riding horses to roost chickens" ("Late Out of the Left Tuck") is reflected in his adoptive attitude of learning from previous and even contemporary poets in his poetry creation (see section 5 of this chapter). It is precisely because he is cautious that he can fulfill the historical mission of collecting poetry in a down-to-earth manner. Arrogant and cautious, this is perhaps the best character that creation has given Du Fu.
While comparing the differences between Li and Du, people always emphasize Li Bai's genius and Du Fu's academic ability. In fact, these two poets are both high and learned to be rich in five cars.
Du Fu had extraordinary talent. In the fifth year of the new century (717), Du Fu, who was six years old, watched the Gongsun Da Niang dance "Sword Weapon Hun Shed". Fifty years later, the poet wrote a poem called "Guan Gongsun Da Niang Disciple Dancing Sword Instrument Line", vividly and meticulously recalling the dance posture of Gongsun Da Niang: "Like the nine sunsets of the Yi Shooting, the Correction is like the Emperor of the Qun Dynasty. Come like thunder to collect anger, like the river and sea condensed clear light. The fact that a six-year-old child can appreciate the dance art of "Liu Li And Frustrated" and keep a distinct impression for fifty years shows that the poet is precocious and strongly remembered. In the poem "Grand Tour", he said that he "used to be fourteen or fifteen years old, and traveled to The Hanmo Field." Sven Tri wei disciples, like Bunyan. Seven years of thought is strong, open the mouth to chant the phoenix. Jiuling's book is a big word, and it has been made into a bag", which proves the precocious maturity of his poetic talent. A Du poem is nothing more than a treasure house of poetic art, and without extraordinary genius, it is impossible to build such a treasure house with the strength of one person. In other words, Du Shi's own artistic attainment is the best proof of the poet's genius.
Of course, Du Fu is more praised for his academic ability. Du Fu's extensive and profound reading: "Reading ten thousand volumes" ("Twenty-two Rhymes for Wei Zuo" is his conceited words, and "the group of ten thousand books are often secretly recited" ("Lamentable") Although it is his praise for his friends, it can actually be seen as his master's own way. Reading through ten thousand volumes gives the poet a deep understanding of the literature and scholarship of the previous generation, which is the premise of his comprehensive borrowing from the literary heritage of the previous generation, and the more direct result is reflected in the skillful use of idiom allusions. The Song people claimed to have read extensively, but they were amazed by Du Shi's use of the canon. Sun Jue said: "Du Zimeishi has no two words and no place. (See Lin Xiyi's "Zhuxi Yizhai Eleventh Draft" sequel volume 30) Huang Tingjian further said: "Lao Du composed poems, retired essays, no word and nowhere. Wang Qi sighed and said, "Zimei Bowen Zhigu, and his use is rarely known to dr. Lao Confucian." ("Afterword to the Collected Works of Du Gongbu", see "Du Shi's Detailed Notes") Although these statements are slightly exaggerated and ignore the side of Du Shi who is also good at using slang and colloquial words, they do say how people feel when they read Du Shi. Liu Yuxi of the Middle Tang Dynasty "tasted du yuanwai 'giant jaw tearing down the old fist', and suspected that the 'old fist' was unfounded." And read the "Biography of Shi Le": "Qing can be attacked by the lonely old fist, and the lonely are also full of Qing's poisonous hands." 'What a lie! (See Wei Xuan's "Liu Guest's Tales") is a famous example. However, Du Fu's use of the codex is by no means just a victory of more, and he has many unique features in the specific methods of using the canon. First of all, Du Fu was good at casting idioms for himself. Guo Siyun of the Song Dynasty: "Old Du Poetics, the world thinks that there are no ancients before, and there are no people who come after." Looking at his poems, the Great Patriarchal Anthology, plucking his essence, paracrumbs, and chewing them into my language. Shen Deqian, a Qing dynasty, pointed out: "Du Shaoling uses both the history of the scriptures. For example, in "Dan Qing Introduces General Cao Bao", "Dan Qing does not know that the old man is coming, and the riches are like floating clouds" in the "Analects of the Analects of Shu Er", the sentences of "I do not know that the old man is coming" and "I am unrighteous and rich and expensive, and I am like a floating cloud" in "Painting eagles", and the sentence of "Hairy Blood Sprinkled flat wu" in "Painting Eagles" borrows the words of "wind and rain and rain and blood, sprinkling wild and covering the sky" in Bangu's "Two Capitals", all of which are properly natural and natural, and the language is as it is. Secondly, Du Fu used the codex exactly. Because the poet is extremely rich, he can always choose the most accurate allusion, without any sense of fitting. For example, "The Tomb of the Other Fang Taiwei": "Accompany Xie Fu to chess, and find Xu Jun with the sword." The previous sentence uses Xie An to play a good game like Fang Zhenhaoqin, Fang is quite controversial because he loves the piano player Dong Tinglan, so Du Fu uses this classic to imply that Zaichen's love of art is beyond reproach, just like Qiu Zhao'ao's note: "Words come out to protect, without losing the general body." The next sentence uses the spring and autumn Wu Jizha hanging sword Xu Jun's tomb tree, which is more in line with the title of other tombs. Finally, Du Fu's techniques are flexible and changeable. Therefore, although Du Shi uses a lot of dictionaries, there is no disadvantage of being dull and cumbersome. Lin Xiyi, a Song dynasty, pointed out that in Du's poems, "the rules are either dedicated, or borrowed, or used directly, or translated, or used in their meaning, not in the words." In addition to the exclusive use, there are exhibition uses, there are reverse uses, and there are extraction and penetration for use. ("Zhuxi Yizhai Eleventh Draft" sequel volume 30) Although the classification is slightly too cumbersome, it shows the characteristics of Du Fu's use of canonical techniques. The most famous of these techniques is the method of "or use its meaning, not in the words", the Song Dynasty Li Ji's "Ancient and Modern Poetry" "use things like salt in the water" strip cloud:
The author should use things as if there were salt in the water, and the diet is to know the taste of salt, which the poet secretly hid. Du Shaoling's poems are as follows: "The sound of the five drums and horns is tragic, and the shadow of the Three Gorges Galaxy is shaken." "Man sees the work of Ling's creation, but he does not know what to do. "The Biography of You Heng": "Yuyang mixed with tragic sounds. "The Story of Han Wu": "The shadow of the stars is shaken, and the Oriental Shuo says: 'The response of the people's labor.'" "Then those who make good use of stories, such as the wind catching shadows, are there traces?"
Others, such as Song Cai's "Western Qing Poetry" "Old Du Uses Things" article, Qing Shi Supplement hua's "Dan Servant Saying Poetry" on "Dead Codex Use" article also analyze this method of Du Shi's use of canon. Xue Xueyun, a Qing dynasty: "Du Huanhua refines words and uses things naturally, if you read it carelessly, you can't get it, so it is unique beyond eternity." Obviously, profound academic ability is one of the important reasons for Du Shi's artistic achievements.
If Du Fu is the phoenix in the country of poetry, then extraordinary talent and amazing academic ability are a pair of wings of the phoenix.