Li Bai, Du Fu And The Strife Between Xuan-zong And Su-zong

The strife between Xuan-zong and Su-zong exerted significant influence on the politics, economy and culture during the period of Tianbao and the Unrest of An Lu-shan and Shi Si-ming. Though Li Bai and Du Fu were well known for their poetry, they put most of their energy and interest in politics. Living in the reign of Emperor Xuan-zong and Su-zong, Li Bai and Du Fu got involved in the strife between Xuan-zong and Su-zong in different ways. Therefore, it is of great importance to study the influence Li Bai and Du Fu received from the Strife so as to better understand their political mentality and poetic creation. There have been a lot of studies about Li Bai's following Duke Yong (Li Lin) and Du Fu's trying to rescue Fang Guan, but no studies about the influence Li Bai and Du Fu received from the strife between emperor Xuan-zong and emperor Su-zong. In this paper the author tries to investigate the great change of Li Bai and Du Fu's political mentality and poetic creation brought by the Strife.Chapter one provides background information about Li Bai and Du Fu's involvement in the Strife that lasted all the way from the beginning of the Period of Tianbao to the end of the Unrest of An Lu-shan and Shi Si-ming. During the Period of Tianbao, as Xuan-zong did not trust Li Heng, i.e. his son the would-be emperor Su-zong who was in his prime years, he then made use of his ministers to pin down and exert other control over Su-zong so that his own reign might be stabilized. When the Unrest of An Lu-shan and Shi Si-ming broke out, Li Heng crowned himself as the emperor in Ling-wu. Xuan-zong, the deposed emperor who was in Sichuan for keeping away from the unrest was not satisfied with the situation, so he continued his contending for supremacy against Su-zong. The incident of Duke Yong, Li Lin and the frequent change of ministers in Su-zong's court were the main embodiment of the continuing Strife. Emperor Su-zong finally defeated Duke Yong, Li Lin and dismissed from office all the ministers appointed by Xuan-zong, and consequently won the competition for supreme power. Li Bai was accused of following Duke Yong, Li Lin, so he was put into prison and then exiled. Du Fu, due to his trying to rescue Fang Guan dismissed by Su-zong, angered the emperor Su-zong very much, so he was treated coldly at first and the demoted to Huazhou. One year later, Du Fugave up his position as an official and wandered destitute in Southwest China. The lives of these two great poets changed dramatically due to their involvement in the Strife.Chapter two discusses the influence of the Strife on Li Bai and Du Fu's political mentality. Before his being a follower of Duke Yong, the most important event influencing Li Bai's political mentality was his being a member of the Brush Forest. Before he was called to the Palace, Li Bai was trying eagerly to enter the political career. Given some money and send back home, Li Bai felt disappointed about Xu-zong's politics that was getting more and more corrupt, consequently, he become much less active in political activity. The following Duke Yong and getting involved in the strife, Li Bai once again became active in politics. In his latter years, Li Bai actively participating in politics was for whitewashing himself and proving his political ability. Deeply influenced by Confucian mentality, Du Fu consciously linked his political career with the supreme ruler of the feudal dynasty. So his attitude toward the Emperor determined his political mentality. Hoping that Xu-zong would reform his administration, Du Fu tried firmly for ten years in Chang'an to start a career for himself in politics. Meanwhile, with much expectation for the newly crowned emperor Su-zong, he almost risked his life to leave the enemy-occupied region for Feng-xiang, Su-zong's residence, hoping that he could help Su-zong revitalize the then Tang Dynasty. Though he still lay hope on Su-zong's allaying the Unrest, Du Fu gradually showed disappointment for Su-zong's impotentness and corruption. Then Du Fu gave up his position...