Native place of poet Du Fu of high attainments

Du Fu, style name was Zi Mei, born on Jan. 1 of the lunar year, the first year of Taiji times, Ruizong Emperor, Tang Dynasty. He was born in the foot of Bijiao Mountain, Nanyaowan village, which is 2 kilometers far away from east of old city, Gongxian County, Henan province. The ancestral home of Du Fu was Sheling of Chang’an, and his remote ancestors moved southward to Xiangyang following with Jin Families. Du Yiyi, the great-grandfather of Du Fu moved the family to Gongxian County when he took the post of county magistrate of Gongxian County. His grandfather Du Shenyan was a famous poet in the early Tang Dynasty, as the grandson undertaking of his ancestors, Du Fu reached to the crest of poetry creation, and became to the great realism poet of our country even the world.

 

We can see the native place of Du Fu Nanyaowan village when driving from the city zone eastward 8 kilometers, here is with beautiful scene, bright mountain and clear water and idyllic. In front of the village is the clear Xionghe River and flows northward to Luoshui River. There are three mountains with the shape of pen rack composed of three apexes on the north of village, as we call it “Bijia Mountain”, behind the mountain is a circled billabong which is similar to the depression for water on an ink stone. Next Bijia Mountain is a small courtyard; inner the yard is the brick cave, which is deep for 10m, wide for 2m and high for 3m. And the great poet Du Fu of Tang Dynasty was born in this cave. Though the derivation of this cave is not known to us, but according to the running in family of local people, we customarily call it as “cave of ministry of works”. Suffering from thousand years’ denudation by wind and rain, the soil erosion is serious, which lead to the collapsing of foreside half parts. This old cave, as same as Du Fu were treated absently for more than thousand years in feudalistic times.

 

After the establishment of People’s Republic of China, the Party and government attach great importance to the cave in which the poet was born, and appropriate funds to repair it for many times. In 1962, in order to memorialize the 1250 anniversary of Du Fu’s birth, “Memorial of native place of Du Fu” was set up in the courtyard of the cave in which the poet was born, and Guo Moruo inscribed the title, also the famous artist Mr. Jiang Zhaohe was invited to draw the figure of Du Fu. In 1963, the people’s government of Henan province publicized the cave in which Du Fu was born as the key cultural protection unit with the level of province.

 

In front of the cave in which the poet was born is a small courtyard, originally there are three west rooms and they are the exhibition rooms of Du Fu’s poetry productions. Inner the rooms are the different issues of Sheshi, more than 500 corpuses that researching Sheshi and many Sheshi corpuses with English issue. On the wall are the poetry pictures and figures of Du Fu that are drawn by artists for every dynasty. In the midst is the half-length bronze of Du Fu sculpted by Professor Zeng Zhushao of present age. The gate of native courtyard is westward, and originally was a well inner the yard, according to the legend, it was the well for drinking water of Du family, and this well had ever fostered two generations’ poets (Du Shenyan and Du Fu), so people call this well as “intelligential well” and there are many legends about this saying. Now, one pavilion is set on the well, and the well is excavated out repeatedly to review its original looks, one stone stele was embedded on the right frontispiece of the gate with large scripted words “Native place of poet with high attainments”, which were written by Henan prefectural magistrate Zhang Han of Qing Dynasty, and was established in autumn, Dingmo year, Yongzheng Emperor, Qing Dynasty (A.D. 1727).

 

Zhang Han quite adored Sheshi and the character of Du Fu. It is said that during his imperial examination, the title was too difficult, when he was anxious for it, absentmindedly he saw an old man with black clothes waving to him, by given the directions of the old man, Zhang Han suddenly saw the bright and felt enlightened. Then he wrote the articles, passed the examination, became the successful candidate and was compiled by imperial order as the prefectural magistrate of Henan. Then Zhang Han rapturously took the servants and attendants and went to Luoyang to take the post. One day, when he walked to the entrance of Nanyaowan village, Zhang Han saw an old man behind the curtain of sedan chair. The man was with quiet step and passed crossing the sedan chair. Zhang Han thought within himself: Ordinary people of the county who did not know the courtesy in such way. Though he thought like this, he also felt the old man was familiar, during the time of muttering to himself, he suddenly occurred to that: Is he just the old man that indicated me the literary thought in the examination room? Then he went down the sedan chair immediately, but when he went out of the sedan chair, the old man could not see anywhere. He asked for the two servants and they all said they had never sawn any old man. Zhang Han was puzzled and walked to the village to ask about there were any celebrity relics near the round. The common people pointed to the courtyard at the foot of Bijiao Mountain and said: “This house is the place in which the poet Du Fu of Qing Dynasty was born.” After the hearing, Zhang Han took a tumble, whisked and cleaned up the clothes in haste, and paid a visit to the courtyard. When he raised his head, he could only see desolation, and wormwoods were full of the yard with crumbling walls and dilapidated houses, which were quite declined. At this time, Zhang Han also thought of the poet reciting poem when traveling for all his life, caring the country and concerning about common people, homeless and miserable, be down and out for the whole lift time, he could not help sighing: “As a poet with high attainments, he actually become to this languorous condition!” Then he censed respectfully, visited the cave in which the poet Du Fu was born, looked with reverence to Bijia Mountain and then started his travel to take the post with goodwill sigh. After taking the office, Zhang Han always thought of Du Fu and could not sleep well frequently, then he sent persons to seek for the descendants of Du Fu. He set up the ancestral temple of Du Fu at the west of Dongzhan Street, built up one stele at the entrance of native place of Du Fu, and then he went to sacrifice and renovate the tomb of Du Fu in person, organized the descendants of Du Fu to compile and amend pedigree of Dushi, and made the preface in person (Whole book preface of poet Du Fu with high attainments).

 

Du Fu lived in the times of Tang Dynasty going through prosperity to decline, he experienced Kaiyuan flourishing age and also the “Insurgence made by An Lushan and Shi Siming”. He rushed for the life everywhere oppressing the living difficulties and war convulsion, and witnessed the decline of the country and the sufferings of people, then he wrote many undying poems reflecting the social realism with sincere motion of caring about country and concerning people, which recorded the tremendous transformation of Tang Dynasty. So the later generations call his poems as “historical poems”. There are about 1400 in reserve of Du Fu’s poems. On the creation method, Du Fu inherited and developed the excellent tradition since Shi Jing. As the integrated person of Chinese classic Parnassus, Du Fu “totally obtains the advantages of ancient and modern people, and becomes into unique circle of himself.” As he inheriting the former wise men and enlightening from them, Du Fu became the apex of realistic poem of our country, and then he was respected as “great poet with high attainments”. Yuan Zhen had ever said that nobody could be so great other than Du Fu since the appearance of poet.

 

Du Fu left behind more than 1400 poems for us, and they are the precious cultural relics of the Chinese Nation. The poems made by Du Fu have deep social contents, especially for the poetry art, they make the tremendous effectiveness on integrating former generations and inaugurating the first sign of later age. Creditably, Du Fu is not only the ever-bright kindling star of literary history of our country, but also the great famous poet of world.

 

In 1988, the general manager of folk-custom culture village Liu Heiji and the former secretary of the Party committee of Kangdian village Zhou Yingxiu mobilized to collect money to all circles of society for more than 1 million Yuan and to build Du Fu cemetery, successively levied lands for 32.34Mu, planted 2000 all kinds of flowers and woods. The body construction has one gate copied for Tang Dynasty, one Du Fu figure (high for 47m and the seat highness is 3m), two gloriettes with two layers copied for Tang Dynasty, behind the cemetery is the stele corridor for hundred meters, the poems of Du Fu are scripted on it with standing beneath the corridor. On Nov. 1990 the first stage project was finished, the second stage project will be carried out at proper time, and in the near future, one architectural complex copied for Tang Dynasty--- Du Fu Cemetery will stand erectly on the apex of Youshan Mountain for the looking with reverence, visiting and pondering on the past of people.