Confucian Prophet: Political Thought In Du Fu’s Poetry (752–757) ...

there is a model of the ideal polity and social order and how it should be ruled. One can ask how that polity should relate to the world that surrounds it. One can also ask some important literary questions, such as why Du’s poetics are so different from those of his contemporaries; why Du revived the yuefu 樂府 ballad in the way that he did and at the time that he did; what drove him to some of his literary innovations, such as the choice to write about some topics that later critics saw as vulgar. If compassion is a crucial characteristic of his poetry, what caused Du to write about it whereas other poets of the day did not? My purpose is to ask of Du’s poems questions such as these that have not yet been asked, from critical and analytical perspectives that have not yet been used, to see if a coherent set of political ideas might be drawn from Du Fu’s poetry and to see where he might fit within the tradition of political thought. There are two obstacles to overcome: the problem of poem selection and the problem of reading methodology.

Not all of Du’s poetry is amenable to political-philosophical analysis.⁴ Du’s poetic mind encompassed seemingly the entire tradition up to his time in a far more copious way than most of his contemporaries. And his poetic practice changed through the years of his life and career. Du’s early poetry, prior to the year 752, offers few works for the type of analysis suggested here.⁵ Du’s later yuefu ballads are obvious works of social criticism, but it is nearly impossible to draw larger conceptual ideas from their movingly depicted characters and scenes. Similarly, it is very difficult to infer deeper political ideas from such poems as “Nine Completions Palace” 九成宮, “Jade Flower Palace” 玉華宮, and “Autumn Meditations” 秋興八首, all to be discussed later. Although these poems present powerful admonitions against imperial extravagance, overtaxation, and corruption, the deeper roots of Du Fu’s philosophical perspective on these issues are not easy to see.

This perspective is substantially revealed in a well-defined group of poems written in the unique moment of 752–757, in the midst of political crisis, rebellion, and war that embrace a much larger political and philosophical