Spring's Return

Du FuJinzhang Book Company (Jinzhang Shuju) · ChinaJun 2024

4.3

Word count: 3.8K words
Chapters: 48

Summary

"Spring Return" is a poem by the great Tang poet Du Fu. In the second month of the second year of Guangde (764) under Emperor Daizong, Yan Wu again became governor of Chengdu and concurrent military commissioner of Jiannan. In the third month Du Fu returned from Langzhou to the Thatched Cottage in Chengdu and wrote this poem. It reflects Du Fu, after enduring much hardship and having tasted deep adversity, feeling keenly the uncertainty of his whereabouts and the bitterness of constant coming and going, and so producing a mood of self-pity and self-consolation, of making peace with wherever he finds himself.

Editor's review

"Spring Return" is not long, yet it distills a turning point in a particular state of mind in Du Fu's later years. In the spring of the second year of Guangde, Du Fu returned from Langzhou to the Thatched Cottage in Chengdu, ending several years of wandering. The poem looks back on past hardships, laments the uncertainty of his whereabouts, and finally settles into self-consolation and acceptance of wherever he may be. This emotional progression from turmoil to settling is what most deserves close reading. Readers can see that Du Fu was not only the "deep and forceful" poet concerned for his country, but also a man who strove to dissolve his own sorrow and seek inner balance in the face of personal fate. This Shanghai Jinzhang Book Company printing is easy to carry and browse, suitable for close reading of a single poem. Readers may understand the shifts of mood by considering Du Fu's experience before and after his return to the Thatched Cottage, and may also read it alongside other poems from his Thatched Cottage period to appreciate the restraint and measure of his emotional expression.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who love Du Fu's poetry and wish to understand the shifts in his later years' state of mind
Students and self-learners studying Tang poetry who need close-reading material for a single poem
General readers interested in Tang literati's wandering experience and the theme of settling

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting a systematic account of Du Fu's life or complete works
Readers who prefer long narrative or plot-driven works

Reading tips

First read the whole poem to grasp the emotional arc, then go line by line to sense the layers from self-pity to self-consolation
Read with the background of Du Fu's return to the Chengdu Thatched Cottage to understand the source of the sense of uncertain whereabouts
Read against other poems from Du Fu's Thatched Cottage period to compare similarities and differences in mood

About the publisher

Jinzhang Book Company (Jinzhang Shuju) China · Founded in 1901

Jinzhang Book Company (Jinzhang Shuju) was a private publishing and distribution house in Shanghai during the late Qing and early Republican periods, issuing traditional works by lithographic printing. Judging from the 1,194 titles in the collection, its publishing focused on classical poetry, Eastern philosophy, historical reading, traditional Chinese medical texts, and canonical works, along with books on literary appreciation. Representative titles include the poetry and prose collections of Du Fu and Ouyang Xiu; historical works such as the Book of Han and Zizhi Tongjian; classical texts such as the Book of Documents and Mencius; and specialized and literary classics such as Treatise on Cold Damage and Li Sao. Its author resources cover major figures across the ages, including Du Fu, Ban Gu, Sima Guang, Zhang Zhongjing, Qu Yuan, Ouyang Xiu, and Tang Shenwei, reflecting the house's characteristic reliance on traditional scholarship and medical literature while serving general readers. Public information on its early history and operational details is limited, so no conjecture is offered here.

版权信息
【薄暮】杜甫
【西山三首（即岷山，捍阻羌夷，全蜀巨障）】杜甫
【薄游】杜甫
【赠韦赞善别】杜甫
【送李卿晔（晔，淮安忠公琇之子，时以罪贬岭南）】杜甫
【绝句】杜甫
【城上（一作空城）】杜甫
【舍弟占归草堂检校聊示此诗】杜甫
【伤春五首（巴阆僻远伤春罢始知春前已收宫阙）】杜甫
【王阆州筵奉酬十一舅惜别之作】杜甫
【放船】杜甫
【奉待严大夫】杜甫
【奉寄高常侍（一作寄高三十五大夫）】杜甫
【奉寄章十侍御】杜甫
【将赴荆南，寄别李剑州】杜甫
【奉寄别马巴州（时甫除京兆功曹在东川）】杜甫
【泛江】杜甫
【陪王使君晦日泛江就黄家亭子二首】杜甫
【南征】杜甫
【久客】杜甫
【春远】杜甫
【暮寒】杜甫
【双燕】杜甫
【百舌】杜甫
【地隅】杜甫
【游子】杜甫
【归梦】杜甫
【江亭王阆州筵饯萧遂州】杜甫
【绝句二首】杜甫
【滕王亭子】杜甫
【玉台观（滕王造）】杜甫
【滕王亭子】杜甫
【玉台观】杜甫
【渡江】杜甫
【喜雨】杜甫
【送韦郎司直归成都】杜甫
【将赴成都草堂途中有作，先寄严郑公五首】杜甫
【别房太尉墓（在阆州）】杜甫
【自阆州领妻子却赴蜀山行三首】杜甫
【山馆（一作移居公安山馆，编入江陵诗后）】杜甫
【行次盐亭县聊题四韵奉简严遂州蓬州两使君咨议诸昆季】杜甫
【倚杖（盐亭县作）】杜甫
【陪王汉州留杜绵州泛房公西湖（房琯刺汉州时所凿）】杜甫
【舟前小鹅儿（汉州城西北角官池作官池即房公湖）】杜甫
【得房公池鹅】杜甫
【答杨梓州】杜甫
【登楼】杜甫

FAQ

What state of mind does "Spring Return" reflect in Du Fu?

The poem contains both self-pity after enduring much hardship and deep adversity, and lament over the uncertainty of his whereabouts and constant coming and going, finally turning toward self-consolation and making peace with wherever he is. Understanding this emotional progression from turmoil to settling is the key to reading the poem.

What background should one know before reading this poem?

One may first learn about Yan Wu's second appointment to Chengdu in the second year of Guangde and Du Fu's return from Langzhou to the Thatched Cottage. Knowing that the poet had just ended a period of wandering helps one appreciate the complex mood in which self-pity and self-consolation coexist.

How is this edition best used?

The Shanghai Jinzhang Book Company printing is brief and suitable as close-reading material for a single poem, to be carried and recited repeatedly. For systematic study of Du Fu, one should still consult his poetry collections or chronological biographies.

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About the author

Du Fu Author · Chinese

Du Fu was a realist poet of the Tang dynasty, styled Zimei and self-named Shaoling Yelao. His ancestral home was Xiangyang, and he was born in Gongxian, Henan. He served as Left Remonstrator and as an adjunct员外郎 of the Ministry of Works, and is known to later generations as Du Shiyi and Du Gongbu. During the An Lushan Rebellion he was displaced and wandered from place to place, later settling in the Thatched Cottage in Chengdu. About 1,500 of his poems survive, most collected in The Complete Works of Du Gongbu. He is revered as the "Sage of Poetry," his verse is called "poetry as history," and he is ranked alongside Li Bai as "Li and Du." His writing confronts social reality and personal hardship, covering war and displacement, the sufferings of the people, landscapes, and everyday reflections; his style is deep and forceful, his language precise and varied, and his influence on later poetry is profound. This site holds 31 of his works, including complete collections such as The Complete Works of Du Fu and The Collected Poems of Du Fu, as well as individual pieces such as "Again Showing Zongwu," "Visiting the Temple of the First Lord," "Song of the Year's End," and "The Ninth Day." His works are commonly classified under ancient poetry, Eastern philosophy, and culture.