Some useful notes on Li Po and Tu Fu
Li Po (sometimes written in English as Li Bo) created a persona for himself in his poetry. The poet presents himself as a hard-drinking but sensitive soul who is saddened by the way time brings old age, suffering, and death. Biographical details of Li Po’s life are sketchy (he died over 1300 years ago), but the information that survives about him suggests that the persona he presents in his poetry isn’t far from the truth about his own personality. He drank much, and his drunken behavior alienated many people, especially members of the Chinese royal court.
“Bring in the Wine” well illustrates Li Po’s persona as found in so many of his poems. He begins the poem with images of the inevitable movement of time and the sadness inherent in aging. His solution to the problem of mortality is to party, to eat and drink and sing (a reference to his poetry). His ultimate solution to facing death is to stay dead drunk forever and never sober up. Inherent in his solution is the affirmation that it is being aware and thinking that makes change and death so hard to endure. Being drunk interferes with thinking and thus makes mortality less painful.
Here’s a kind of footnote to one of the words in the poem: the word cash refers to a small brass coin with a square hole in the middle. You have seen such coins in class; they were attached to a string binding that bamboo book of the Ramayana that I passed around in class.
Tu Fu (sometimes Du Fu), a contemporary of Li Po, presents a far different vision of himself than does Li Po. While Li Po focused much on himself and loved parties and drunken revelry, Tu Fu, as seen in his poems, was a gentle man much concerned with the well-being of those around him. His compassion for others and his desire to do good place him among those who embrace Confucian ideals. People admire Tu Fu (as he presents himself in his poetry) for his kindness, generosity, and selfless moral affirmations. He would be a good man to have as a father or as a friend, whereas Li Po would be an entertaining person at a party, someone people might enjoy talking with, a fun fellow with whom to share a drink.
The poetry of Tu Fu often laments the suffering of people, especially because of the disasters brought by war. His focus is upon others rather than upon himself. Find lines in the assigned poems that illustrate (1) his hatred of war, (2) his valuing of friendship, and (3) his wish to help others.
The exam will cover materials assigned and lectures since the last exam. Some of the questions will requite that you have taken and studied notes on my lectures. Other questions come brom both the assigned readings and the introductions in your textbook. The format of the exam will be the same as that of Exam I (multiple choice, matching, true-false, and an optional essay question). Some sample multiple-choice questions:
1. Karma refers to
A. a guru
B. brahman
C. Veda
D. work
E. Upanishad
2. Lakshmana was
A. Rama's mother
B. Rama's brother
C. Rama's father
D. Rama's uncle
E. Rama's wife
3. Valmiki was
A. Ravana's brother
B. a warrior
C. a poet
D. a vulture
E. a demon
4. Bharata became
A. king
B. a monkey
C. a white deer
D. a condor
E. a chariot driver
5. Krishna told Arjuna not to worry about killing in battle because
A. the enemy deserved to die
B. he would be fighting the sons of darkness
C. Krishna had already killed those Arjuna would kill
D. death for those who sought chaos was justified
E. he would gain power and wealth
6. Sanjaya speaks to
A. Dhrtarastra
B. Arjuna
C. Rama
D. Krishna
E. Pandu
7. a powerful head man
A. Medina
B. Abu Talib
C. Hira
D. Khadijah
E. Hashim
8. Giving charity is
A. Salat
B. the last pilar of Islam
C. Zakat
D. a part of the Haj
E. a form of fasting
9. Tu Fu
A. invited Muhammad to be Judge in Medina
B. served Krishna
C. recommended drinking 300 cups of wine
D. drew a magic line around his hut
E. lost roof thatching