Friendship of the Poor
- Poetry of Du Fu
Make friends or foes of men as you will;
Of fickle friends you can’t have your fill.
Have you not heard of friendship true
Between Guan and Bao, ancient and new?
Such friendship now is thrown away
Like dirt on which none care to stay.
This poem stems from Du Fu’s years of hardship in Chang’an, likely composed around 752 CE. Having languished in the capital for nearly a decade, repeatedly failing the imperial examinations, his life had sunk into the dire straits he himself described: “At dawn, knocking at rich men’s gates; at dusk, trailing in the dust of sleek horses.” After personally experiencing the cold disdain of the powerful and the alienation of old acquaintances, he felt to the bone the fickleness of human relations. With a tone as fierce as fire, this poem pierces the hypocritical essence of social connections veiled by an age of prosperity, issuing a desperate cry for sincere friendship and a fierce denunciation of the era’s decadent morals.
翻手作云覆手雨，纷纷轻薄何须数。
君不见管鲍贫时交，此道今人弃如土。
- Why Chinese poems is so special?
- The most distinctive features of Chinese poetry are: concision- many poems are only four lines, and few are much longer than eight; ambiguity- number, tense and parts of speech are often undetermined, creating particularly rich interpretative possibilities; and structure- most poems follow quite strict formal patterns which have beauty in themselves as well as highlighting meaningful contrasts.
- How to read a Chinese poem?
- Like an English poem, but more so. Everything is there for a reason, so try to find that reason. Think about all the possible connotations, and be aware of the different possibilities of number and tense. Look for contrasts: within lines, between the lines of each couplet and between successive couplets. Above all, don't worry about what the poet meant- find your meaning.