Lebin and ufu seem to have had much less impact on their contemporaries han they did on later ages. There are some anthologies that come from the middle of the eighth century, and they don't have libi and duf in them. And it has been suggested that this might be connected with the exams,. These anthologies were aimed at examination candidates to memorize. So they tended to pick up the flashier poetry of the time and teach you how to impress your examiner. A go back to daism. Line dae. i smile, but don't reply, i'm feeling good. The third line gives a strong hint, peach blossom swirling down stream and away
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss two of China’s greatest poets, Li Bai and Du Fu, who wrote in the 8th century in the Tang Era. Li Bai (701-762AD) is known for personal poems, many of them about drinking wine, and for finding the enjoyment in life. Du Fu (712-770AD), a few years younger, is more of an everyman, writing in the upheaval of the An Lushan Rebellion (755-763AD). Together they have been a central part of Chinese culture for over a millennium, reflecting the balance between the individual and the public life, and one sign of their enduring appeal is that there is rarely agreement on which of them is the greater.
The image above is intended to depict Du Fu.
With
Tim Barrett
Professor Emeritus of East Asian History at SOAS, University of London
Tian Yuan Tan
Shaw Professor of Chinese at the University of Oxford and Professorial Fellow at University College
And
Frances Wood
Former Curator of the Chinese Collections at the British Library
Producer: Simon Tillotson