In 712 A.D., one
of the greatest poets ever to exist was born in Gongxian, Henan. As an
inquisitive child, Tu Fu read many
books. His love for reading and his Confucian education could be possible attributes to his talent in writing poetry. It was not
long untill he began to write poetry at the age of seven. Around the age of fifteen, Tu Fu started to gain more and more
recognition for his poetry. From there he went on to write a total of 1400 poems.
Like any
other child, Tu Fu had childish aspirations. He wanted to become an official
one day in the government. To his
dismay, Tu Fu did not pass the imperial civil service exams. He stilll maintained a few official positions temporarily.
Around
the age of twenty, Tu Fu began what became his ten year journey. During
his journey, he was fortunate enough
to experience as well as observe the variating lifestyles which surrounded the China area. Throughout his travel he was caught in
stressful circumstances as a poor wanderer. This experience allowed him to witness life from the perspective of a poor person.
In this state of existence he saw the contrast between the luxurious life of upperclassmen and the life of suffering which many
who were less fortunatye upheld.
In
his poetry, Tu Fu used the injustices which he witnessed in society to
maintain and progress his motivation for his
poetry.By taking the most simple ironies of the world, Tu Fu was allowed to thus create some of the most masterful
compositions using words to ever be known. Untill his last day of life, Tu Fu continued to write poetry, which would inform
and humor the general audience.
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