| Chapter 1: | Poetry and Political Thought |
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next chapter. Both “Seeking Cui Ji and Li Feng” and “Viewing the Flood” are built around the political fact of the exclusion of the literati from positions of power. “Traveling from the Capital” contains a representation of the court at Li Mountain 驪山, the site of the Huaqing Palace 華清宮 and hot springs 華清池 (about 60 li northeast of Chang’an 長安), where Xuanzong held court in the autumn and winter seasons, accompanied by his favorite consort Yang Guifei, the second cousin of Yang Guozhong. Finally, “Northern Expedition” features at its close a discourse on the composition of the court complete with recommendations regarding who among its major and powerful figures should be punished. As representations of political realities, these scenes invite questions about politics in the abstract because they are necessarily measured against an ideal that would be preferable: What is the ideal model that the court should assume? What should be the role of the emperor and his ministers? What should be the role, if any, of the aristocratic elite?
There are also economic events and systems in which Du’s persona and his poetic figures must appear and act. One of these is the perversion of the internal tribute system, in which the capital region was supplied with grain by way of the southern riverways, enhanced by the construction of an elaborate system of canals. Another concerns the problem of increasing court extravagance and the enrichment of some factions and their families and associates over others. This system was used to supply Chang’an in the west with grain from the more fertile regions of the south and east. As grain became more plentiful, however, the system was turned from the traditional purposes of tribute to the emperor to commercial operations run by various officials in charge of the supply system, in which grain was exchanged for other commodities and manufactures. The taxes required to maintain the boat transport system to ship these goods from various locations of the empire to the capital was placed upon wealthy families in the south and the east, thereby exacerbating the political conflict between factions with different regional power bases. The practice grew of moving tax revenue, off the books, into the private purse of Xuanzong. This led to economic