China:The Glorious Tang And Song Dynasties - Asian Art Museum ...

Du Fu was born in Gongxian, close to the eastern Tang capital. His youth was spent in education
for the civil service exams. Beginning around 735, he took the exam several times, but he failed
repeatedly. Finally he gave up. He eventually became an official, but his political career was a failure.
Instead, Du Fu devoted himself to poetry; he claimed never to be satisfied until the magic of his
words struck his readers, leaving a lasting impression. He became a master craftsman of words, and
few poets could equal his skill. Du Fu also had penetrating social insight. For instance, in the poems
he wrote about the frontier, he unmasked hidden problems beneath the glory of victory—for example,
the suffering of soldiers.
On the Border, First Series (the Fourth)
We recruits have our commanders to send us off,
But, bound for distant duty, we’re people too!
From here we go out to face life of death—
No cause for the officers to scowl at us so!
Along the route we come on someone we know,
Give him a letter to hand to close kin.
Sad as it is, we and they are parted now,
No longer to share the same troubles and pain.
Translated by Burton Watson
This poem narrates the often miserable lives of recruits sent to frontiers to fight wars and face
death. Despite their acceptance of dangerous duties they are abused by commanders. Separated
from family and friends they are lonely and homesick. Their cold comfort is to send letters home
with acquaintances they meet by chance along a road.
C. The appeal of the exotic: “The Girl Who Danced the Whirl” by Bai Juyi
The culture of the Tang was truly cosmopolitan. Tang society confidently explored all things new
and foreign. Persians, Indians, Syrians, and people from all over Asia arrived daily into Chang’an,
the Tang capital. Tang people actively sought out foreign lands for cultural and economic exchanges,
and they welcomed foreign fashions, amusements, products, and immigrant peoples. For instance,
the game of polo, originally a foreign amusement, gained wide popularity among the elite; the
Whirl, originally a foreign dance, became the favorite entertainment for the Chinese; and the image
of Arabic or Persian camels and their non-Chinese grooms occurred everywhere in ceramic artifacts.
All these exotic entities inspired the fascination of Tang poets. Descriptions of foreign customs,
fashions, and entertainment became conspicuous themes in Tang poetry. One good example is “The
Girl Who Dances the Whirl” by Bai Juyi.
Bai Juyi (772–846) was as famous as Li Bo and Du Fu. Born into a poor scholarly family at
Xinzhen, Bai Juyi spent his youth in education for civil service exams. Compared to many other
Tang poets, Bai Juyi had much greater luck in successful entry to the civil service. He passed the
civil service exam when he was very young. He experienced dramatic ups and downs in his official
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