Du Fu's life can be divided into four periods. Before the age of thirty-five, it was his study and strong travel period. At this time, it coincided with the heyday of Kaiyuan, and the economic situation was good, which was the fastest growing period in his life. The poet was "studious" since he was a child and began to recite poems at the age of seven. His hard study of "reading thousands of books" and "secretly reading thousands of books" prepared sufficient conditions for his creation. From the age of 20, he ended his school life and began a "strong patrol" for more than ten years. Go south to wuyue first, and then go north to Zhao Qi. When I traveled in Qi and Zhao, I had the friendship of "brothers" with Su Yuanming, Gao Shi, Li Bai and others. Sometimes I called eagles to chase animals and hunt for fun, and sometimes I climbed mountains to reminisce about the past and drank poems. During this long heroic journey, the poet came into contact with the incomparable rich cultural background and magnificent rivers and mountains of our motherland, which not only enriched his life, but also broadened his vision and mind, and brought quite a strong romantic color to his early poems. The poem "Wang Yue" can represent. "Once you climb to the top of the mountain, you will see that all the other mountains look short under the sky." It shows the poet's ambition for all undertakings (including creation). However, due to this lifestyle, it is impossible to get close to the people and go deep into reality. Therefore, as a great realistic poet, this is only a preparation period for his creation.
Du Fu's approach to realism began in the second period (35 to 44 years old) when he was confined in Chang 'an for ten years. This was the brewing period of the Anshi Rebellion, and the traitors Li and Yang were in power. Du Fu not only failed to realize his political ambition of "respecting the monarch and being virtuous", but also began to live a humiliating life of "raising a rich family in the morning and fattening at dusk", and even often went hungry and frozen: "Hunger is ten days, so why not hang up your clothes?" "Suffering from hunger and cold, Du Fu once thought about retiring and becoming Chao Fu and Xu You, but he did not fear difficulties, but resolutely embarked on the road of actively joining the WTO. This is an important opportunity. Life tortured Du Fu and perfected Du Fu, so that he gradually penetrated into people's lives and saw the sufferings of the people and the sins of the ruling class, thus writing realistic masterpieces such as Chedian, Two Roads, and Going to Fengxian to pay homage. As a result of ten years' confinement, Du Fu became a poet who cared about the country and the people. This determines the direction of Du Fu's life path and creative path.
Forty-five to forty-eight years old is the third period of Du Fu's life, and catching thieves is the official period. This is the most violent period of An Shi Rebellion. The country was in peril, the people suffered great disasters, and the poet also experienced difficulties and obstacles. In northern Shaanxi, he fled with the people. In the secluded Chang 'an, he witnessed the slaughter and looting of Hu people, and felt the pain of the country's destruction and death with the people. In order to devote himself to restoring his career, he escaped from Chang 'an alone and came to Fengxiang. From these poems, we can imagine the dangers at that time, such as "living today, temporarily in a different place", "Ma Xie sees the son of heaven, and his sleeves show two elbows". After getting rid of the thief, he was appointed as a left scavenger. This is an admonition officer who is very close to the emperor. In his first month as an admonition officer, he went to save the housing officer because he was "desperate", but unexpectedly he angered Su Zong and was fined several times. Since then, he has been denounced repeatedly, but he has also gained many opportunities to go deep into people's lives. On the way back from Fengxiang to Luzhou, in Qiang Village and on Xin 'an Road, he saw all kinds of horrors. He cried with his elders and mothers who sent their children to the battlefield. The Anshi Rebellion was a national contradiction, and the war at that time was a self-defense war related to the survival of the country. Therefore, Du Fu's attitude towards the war is different from before, not opposing, but actively appealing. He mourned the "40,000 rebels" who died for his country. He warned civil and military officials to "sweep the guns with all their strength." On the one hand, he vigorously exposed the darkness of military service and sympathized with the people; On the one hand, it still encourages people to participate in the war. Because he went deep into people's lives and devoted himself to practical struggles, he wrote a series of well-known and patriotic poems, such as For Sorrow, Ai Jiangtou, Hope in Spring, Qiang Village, Northern Expedition, Car Wash Horse, Three Officials and Three Farewells, which reached the peak of realism.
"I am full of sadness and trouble because people travel far." In July 759, Du Fu abandoned his official position and went through all kinds of hardships from Iowa to Qin Zhou and Tonggu. At the end of this year, he arrived in Chengdu, built a thatched cottage in the western suburbs of Chengdu, and began his last "wandering southwest" life. In 764 AD, he came to Shu again and recommended Du Fu as a thrifty staff officer to check Yuan Wailang of the Ministry of Industry (later called him "Du Gongbu"). He served as a shogun for six months. Besides, during the eleven years of wandering, he often lived the same life as others. He loves to associate with working people and hates bureaucrats, so he said, "I don't like going to the state capital, for I'm afraid people will think I'm real." Speaking of Mao Yu, the next House of Representatives is not embarrassed. "In these eleven years of wandering, Du Fu's life is still very bitter. The year he died, he was hungry for five days because he was fleeing the Tibetan rebellion. What is precious is that no matter how hard his life is, no matter where he wanders, he always cares about the safety of the country and the sufferings of the people. At the same time, he never forgot or relaxed his creation. During his wandering career of 1 1 year, he wrote more than 1000 poems. The thatched cottage was broken by the autumn wind, the banks of the Yellow River were recovered by the imperial army, Wu Lang reappeared, Tianfu Hunyin, General, the autumn scenery was prosperous, and Sui Yanxing were all masterpieces of this period. Different from the previous period, it is more lyrical and diversified. It is particularly noteworthy that the seven-character poem has been creatively endowed with great political and social content.
Du Fu wandered in Sichuan for eight or nine years, and in Hubei and Hunan for two or three years. In the winter of 2008, he died on a wrecked ship from Changsha to Yueyang. "The blood of the war is still there, and the voice of the army has been moved to this day." This is his last memory of his motherland and people. In the era when people are enslaved, it is natural to be a poet who cares about people's sufferings. 1983, the coffin parked in Yueyang was buried in Yanshi, which was the only time for his grandson Du to "clean up beggars". The poet's body has been wandering for 43 years.
From the above simple narration, we can see the relationship between Du Fu and the people, and how he became a great realistic poet.
Du Fu was deeply influenced by Confucianism, but he also criticized the negative aspects of Confucianism from his personal life experience. For example, Confucianism said, "If you are poor, you will be immune to it, and if you are up to it, you will help the world." Du Fu, no matter he is poor, wants to be both good and good on earth. Confucianism said: "If you are not in your position, you will not seek its politics." Du Fu, whether in office or not, wanted to govern the country! Although he was "helped by others", he said that "drawing the sword and dialing the decline of the year." Although "all countries are exhausted" and "all places are exhausted", he "won't cry" and "the danger is increasing". It is said by predecessors that many of Du Fu's five-meter poems can be "played", but in fact there are more than five meters. As we know, Confucianism also talks about "keeping love" and "valuing people", but at the same time it despises labor and the working people. Du Fu, on the other hand, is close to the working people, likes working, and is even willing to sacrifice himself for the happiness of the broad masses of people. Confucianism makes a strict distinction between China people and foreigners, but Du Fu got rid of this narrowness to some extent. He advocated peace with his neighbors and not fighting, so he said: "There is a limit to killing people, and countries have their own borders. If you can control aggression, how can you kill more people? " Therefore, he cherishes the good relationship between ethnic groups: "It seems that Wen Zanpu loves relatives more, but the good relationship between uncles and nephews is hard to give up!" (Recent News) criticized the Xuanzong War for destroying this relationship: "The court suddenly killed the princess with Song Shujiang!" ("I like to hear the slogan that thieves always have a way out")
In short, in Du Fu's own words, "worrying about Li Yuan in poor years" is his central idea, "willing to die when in trouble" is his consistent spirit, and "obeying the monarch and then making the custom" is his highest ideal and main means. He used these to ask and encourage his friends. He praised Yuan Jie and said, "Daozhou is worried about Li Shu, and his words are full of enthusiasm." He said to Yanwu, "If you are on the stage, don't love yourself when you are in danger." He said to Pei Qiu, "Here you are, Yao Shun, Fu Gong, etc. I have long been told to die. " It is these progressive thoughts that formed Du Fu's political enthusiasm, perseverance and optimistic spirit, which made him the most political great poet in the history of our country. Of course, this is also inseparable from his life practice of being close to the people.
Due to the limitation of time and class, Du Fu could not deny the status of the emperor. Bai Juyi said that "the hive and the ant nest are divided into monarch and minister", which is also natural. It should be pointed out that although Du Fu accepted the Confucian idea of loyalty to the monarch, his loyalty to the monarch was based on patriotism and love for the people. Because of this, on the one hand, he has great illusions about the emperor, hoping to "block everyone" through the emperor's "order to reduce taxes and levies"; On the other hand, he also wrote, "Tang Yao is really sacred. How much do you know about that wild old man? " "The son of heaven is more gracious and lonely all his life!" Such as poems that directly satirize the emperor, he is more brave to expose the crimes of powerful officials endangering the country and the people.