Gazing at the Sacred Peak
735
For all this, what is the mountain god like?
An unending green of lands north and south:
From ethereal beauty Creation distills
There, yin and yang split dusk and dawn.
Swelling clouds sweep by. Returning birds
Ruin my eyes vanishing. One day soon,
At the summit, the other mountains will be
Small enough to hold, all in a single glance.
Du Fu
Born: 12 February 712, Gongyi, Zhengzhou, China
Nationality: Chinese
Died: 770, Tan Prefecture, China
Du Fu was a poet and politician of the Tang dynasty. Along with his older contemporary Li Po he is considered one of the greatest Chinese poets. Du Fu’s ambition to serve his country as a civil servant proved unsuccessful as he was unable to make the necessary accommodations. Like the whole of China, Du Fu’s life was devastated by the An Lushan Rebellion of 755, and the last decade or so of his life was a time of constant unrest. Initially unknown to other writers, Du Fu’s work became a huge influence in Both Chinese and Japanese literature and literary culture. Referred to as the ‘Poet-Historian’ and the ‘Poet-Sage’ by Chinese critics, his range of work has allowed Du Fu to be introduced to Western readers
Jezzie G 