Selected Poems of Du Fu

Columbia University Press, Mar 17, 2003 - Literary Criticism - 128 pages

Du Fu (712–777) has been called China's greatest poet, and some call him the greatest nonepic, nondramatic poet whose writings survive in any language. Du Fu excelled in a great variety of poetic forms, showing a richness of language ranging from elegant to colloquial, from allusive to direct. His impressive breadth of subject matter includes intimate personal detail as well as a great deal of historical information—which earned him the epithet "poet-historian." Some 1,400 of Du Fu's poems survive today, his fame resting on about one hundred that have been widely admired over the centuries. Preeminent translator Burton Watson has selected 127 poems, including those for which Du Fu is best remembered and lesser-known works.

Contents

• Evening Banquet at Mr Zuos Villa: 1
• Officer Fangs Barbarian Steed: 2
• The Painted Hawk: 3
• On a Spring Day Thinking of Li Bai: 4
• Twentytwo Rhymes Presented to Assistant Secretary of the Left Wei: 5
• Ballad of the War Wagons: 8
• On the Border: 10
• Accomying Mr Xheng of the Broad Learning Acadmy on an outing to General Hes Mountain Villa: 15
• Ballad of the Beautiful Ladies: 17
• Drunken Song: 19
• Lamenting Fall Rains: 22
• Ballad of Pengya: 24
• Pitying the Prince: 26
• Moonlight Night: 28
• Facing Snow: 29
• Spring Prospect: 30
• Passing Zhaoling Again: 31
• Dayun TempleAbbot Zans Room: 32
• Thinking of My Little Boy: 37
• A Letter from Home: 38
• Jade Flower Palace: 40
• Qiang Village: 41
• Spring Nights Stay in the Left Office: 44
• The Man with No Family to Take Leave of: 45
• An Old One Takes His Leave: 47
• Presented to Gao Shiyan: 49
• 50The Official of Stone Moat: 50
• Presented to Wei Ba Gentleman in Retirement: 51
• Lovely Lady: 52
• Qinzhou: 53
• New Moon: 58
• The Cricket: 59
• View over the Plain: 60
• Off on a Long Journey: 61
• Empty Moneybag: 62
• Staying Overnight in Abbot Zans Rooms: 63
• On a Moonlit Night Thinking of My Younger Brothers: 64
• Taking Leave of Abbot Zan: 65
• Leaving Qinzhou: 67
• Red Valley: 69
• Seven Songs Written During the Qianyuan Era 75860 While Staying at Tonggu District: 70
• Dreaming of Li Bai: 77
• Departing Tonggu District: 78
• Moving In: 80
• River Village: 81
• Old Country Fellow: 82
• Hating Separation: 83
• A Guest Arrives: 84
• Spring NightDeligh ting in Rain: 85
• Jueju Composed at Random: 86
• Visiting Xiujue Temple: 92
• Second Visit: 93
• On the Spur of the Moment: 94
• River Pavilion: 95
• Song How My Thatch Roof Was Blown Away by Autum Winds: 96
• A Ballad: 98
• Journeyers Pavilion: 99
• Crossing Guanglu Pass: 100
• Visiting the Temple of AbbotWen: 101
• Distant View of the Temple on Ox Head: 103
• On Hearing That Government Forces Have Recovered Henan and Hebei: 104
• Letting the Boat Drift: 105
• Ascending the Tower: 106
• Jueju: 107
• Broken Boat: 108
• Recalling the Past: 109
• Two Jueju: 111
• Restless Night: 113
• Night Duty at the Government Office: 114
• Sitting Alone: 115
• Spring DayRiv er Village: 116
• Leaving Shu: 117
• A Traveler at NightWrites His Thoughts: 118
• On the Spur of the Moment: 119
• Ballad of the Firewood Vendors: 120
• On the River: 122
• Late Sunshine: 123
• Midnight: 124
• They Say Youre Staying in a Mountain Temple: 125
• Night: 126
• Zongwus Birthday: 128
• Autumn Meditations: 129
• Dispelling Gloom: 142
• Drunk I Fell Off My Horse Friends Came to See Me Bringing Wine: 143
• Ninth Day: 145
• Climbing to a High Place: 146
• Night in My Lodge: 147
• Lone Wild Goose: 148
• WhiteLittle: 149
• Autumn Fields: 150
• Grieving Again: 153
• Close of Day: 154
• Another Poem for Wu Lang: 155
• Returning to East Camp After Staying for a Time at White Emperor: 156
• Visiting the Chan Master of Zhendi Temple: 157
• Climbing Yueyang Tower: 158
• Yangzi and Han: 159
• On Meeting Li Guinian in the Region South of the Yangzi: 160
• Little Cold FoodWritten Aboard the Boat: 161
• Selected Bibliography: 163
• Translations from the Asian Classics: 165

About the author

Burton Watson is one of the most respected translators of Chinese and Japanese literature. He has translated Chinese and Japanese classics such as Chuang Tzu: Basic Writings, Ryo ̄kan: Zen Monk-Poet of Japan, and The Lotus Sutra.
Ryûichi Abé is Kao Associate Professor of Japanese Religious Studies in the Departments of Religion and East Asian Languages and Cultures at Columbia University. He is the coauthor of Great Fool: Zen Master Ryôkan -Poems, Letters, and Other Writings, and has been a recipient of the Philip and Ruth Hettleman Award for distinguished teaching.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Selected Poems of Du Fu; Translations from the Asian Classics
• Translated by: Burton Watson
• Publisher: Columbia University Press, 2003
• ISBN: 023150229X, 9780231502290
• Length: 128 pages
• Subjects: Literary Criticism / Asian / Chinese; Poetry / Ancient & Classical; Poetry / Asian / General