Tao Te Ching
Du Fu 杜甫 杜甫
712 – 770 CE
Though Li Bai in the West is most often considered China's greatest poet, in the East, that honor most often falls to Du Fu, "the Chinese Shakespeare." Historian, sage, and compared to Milton, Burns, and Wordsworth; Du Fu failed the Chinese examinations for public office although the subject was poetry but became one of China's most influential writers. A close friend and traveling companion of Li Bai during a time of intense political change, his fortunes rose and fell from the highest honors to the depths of misery finally to be robbed of the straw in his bed while he was too weak to resist. In Japan considered the "Saint of Poetry" and the major influence on the greatest haiku poet, Matsuo Bashō; Du Fu excelled at reconciling opposites, considered "everything in this world is poetry," and became one of the greatest writers in any language.
Eras
Chinese
Tang Dynasty 唐朝 (618 – 907 CE)Unlisted Sources
Qiang Village Poems
Quotes by Du Fu 杜甫 (11 quotes)
“The setting moon spills light on the rafters; for a moment I think it's your face.”
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“The frontier posts run with blood enough to fill an ocean, and the war-loving Emperor's dreams of conquest have still not ended... blue is the smoke of war, white the bones of men.”
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“Drifting, drifting... what am I more than a single gull between sky and earth?”
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“Wind, light and time ever revolve; Let us then enjoy life as best we can.”
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“As for Li-po, give him a jugful,
He will write one hundred poems.
He dozes in a wine-shop
On a city street of Chang-an;
And though his Sovereign calls,
He will not board the Imperial barge.”
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“When good governance prevails in the empire, [the scholar] is in evidence. When it is without good governance, he withdraws. It is better, O scholar, to retire early. After all, what is Confucianism to us? Confucius and the bandit So-and-So: Are they not both dust?”
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“the wine is being pressed
I'll have enough to drink
to drown bad memories and help
fend off unhappy thoughts”
from Qiang Village Poems
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“no human things
guitar or flute
quite match up
to nature's music.”
from Qiang Village Poems
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“being taken to see vistas
didn't address my problems...
this universe is enormous,
my road goes on and on.”
from Qiang Village Poems
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“I'll go back to my river village
all by myself tomorrow
to finish the years I have left
in solitude and silence.”
from Qiang Village Poems
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