A Critical Analysis of Themes in the Poems of Du Fu

This essay presents an analysis of selected poems by Du Fu, a revered figure in Chinese poetry, focusing on themes such as love, loss, societal reflections, and the impact of chaos and rebellion. The analysis delves into poems like 'Moonlit Night,' exploring the emotions of longing and loneliness, and 'Thatched Roof,' contrasting Du Fu's dwelling with Tao Qian's, while also examining the representation of houses in poetry. Furthermore, it interprets 'Thoughts While Travelling by Night' through vivid imagery and emotional resonance, alongside an exploration of Du Fu's response to chaos and rebellion in 'Spring Prospect.' The essay also discusses Du Fu's adherence to Confucian principles evident in his poems, highlighting his significant contribution to Chinese literature and cultural history.

Running head: POEMS OF DU FU
Poems of DU FU
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1POEMS OF DU FU
Moonlit Night
Ans a: In the poem “Moonlit Night”, the word “she” is used to refer to the woman who
stares out the window at the moon and thinks of Chang’an.
Ans b: In the poem “Moonlit Night”, the general atmosphere of the poem is said to be that
of gloomy and sorrowful nature. The woman kept staring out of her window at the moon and
thought of her lover or husband Chang’an while the poet felt sad that her children could not
understand the reason she thought about that person. In general, the nature of the poem dealt
with the feeling of loneliness and longing for love that this woman felt in the absence of her
beloved Chang’an. The poem quite beautifully captures the feelings of lovesickness.
Ans c: There are various factors in the poem that contribute to these feelings. First of all, it
was the loneliness which the young woman felt that made her stare at the moon thinking of
Chang’an and where he could have been. Secondly, her children and the poet were the ones
who wondered about the reason why she was thinking so much about her beloved that made
her lonely. This is further proved by the poet’s accurate description of the way in which her
hair looked beautiful in the moonlight, while cold air made her arms cold. The poet wondered
the reason when both of them will meet again which makes some of the readers wonder the
fact that the author might have been Chang’an himself. This is a beautifully written poem
which tells the story of a love sick young woman waiting for her lover to come back to her in
the future so that they can meet again.
Thatched Roof
Ans a: Both Tao Qian and Du Fu mentioned about “Thatched Roof “in their poems. The only
difference was that while Tao Qian made a thatched roof that was strong and was able to

2POEMS OF DU FU
survive the rainfall, Du Fu made a thatched roof which was weak comparted to Tao Qian’s
and had been destroyed in the rainfall that followed. He reached home to find his son
sleeping with difficulty as there was not a single dry place on the hut made of thatched roof.
Ans b: In the beginning of the poem, we find the poet talking about his condition in the
village. He says that he was being teased by the village children which made him chase the
children away. After that when he reached home, he found that the rain has washed his house
and that his son was sleeping with great difficulty as there was not a single dry place in the
hut. The poet used the term “towering roof” and “poorest gentlemen in the world” to mean
that for poor people like him, the hut with thatched roof means heaven for himself and his
son. Thus, the poet meant to say that the house with thatched roof is like a castle for people
who are not rich.
Thoughts While Travelling by Night
Ans a: When imagining the poem in one’s mind, one saw a beautiful night with the
moonlight falling on the surface of the water. The night itself was peaceful and quiet which
described the calmness and peace that one felt within himself. The description of this scene
gave the readers a feeling of peace which can only be imagined if the poem was read with the
right mind.
Ans b: When one felt the poem within himself, one found himself present in the same area
with the moonlight falling on the surface of the lake. This gave the person a feeling of great
of pleasure as he saw the quietness and calmness around him. The poet felt as if he was a bird
who was gliding under the moonlight without a care in the world. The poem is an example of
how beautiful moonlight can be on a quiet and silent night.
Ans c: Basically, the poem described about the beauty of the nature. In the poem, the poet
talked about the fact that a silent and quiet night could be a beautiful one indeed. The poet

3POEMS OF DU FU
imagined himself near a lake with the moonlight falling on the surface of the water. The poet
did not see anybody else in that place and he started to enjoy the beauty of the night. This
made the poet think that he might be a bird who glided around and enjoyed the beauty of the
moonlit night in and around him.
Spring Prospect
Ans a: In the poem, the poet Du Fu described the concept of chaos and rebellion. He stated
that it was because of the rebellion that the nations shattered and that it had caused death to a
lot of people. Rebellions were caused by human beings when they generally were dissatisfied
with the things that were present in the country. The poet stated that when rebellions took
place, it ultimately led to chaos as a lot of property was damaged and destroyed by the
rebellion and chaos. The poet responded to it by saying that rebellion and chaos were not
good as a lot of people died because of the chaos that it caused. Therefore, both rebellion and
chaos caused destruction as both went side by side.
Du Fu
Ans a: Du Fu was widely admired as he was one of the greatest Chinese poets of all time.
He was a poet who mainly wrote poems based on the Confucian principles.
Ans b: The poems indeed dealt with Confucian ideals in the sense that they each dealt with
the issues of romanticism, beauty of the night-time, rebellions and chaos. All these models
had been described about in the Confucian principles.
Ans c: All these poems dealt with one or more forms of Confucian principles which was an
important part of Chinese history. The poet was a well-known practitioner of the Confucian
principles.

4POEMS OF DU FU
Reference List
Hao, J., 2017. The Reception of Du Fu (712-770) and His Poetry in Imperial China. Brill.
Wang, K., Tian, J., Gao, R. and Yao, C., 2018, May. The machine poetry generator imitating
Du Fu's styles. In 2018 International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Big Data
(ICAIBD) (pp. 261-265). IEEE.
Yan, Z., 2018. Ji Hao: The Reception of Du Fu (712–770) and His Poetry in Imperial China.
(Sinica Leidensia.) x, 266 pp. Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2017.€ 99. ISBN 978 90 04 34104 3.
Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, 81(1), pp.166-168.
Yu, X. and Xu, H., 2016. Ancient poetry in contemporary Chinese tourism. Tourism
Management, 54, pp.393-403.