The Tang Poet in Song Poetics, Song Poetics in the Tang Poet: The Construction of Du Fu’s Image as Verbal Master

Abstract

The image of Du Fu as a poet who excels at using the most appropriate words in his poetry was, to a large extent, constructed by the poets and critics of the Song dynasty. When reading, transcribing, editing, and commenting on Du Fu’s poetic texts, the Song literati prioritized textual variants in Du Fu’s poetry that could in their opinion better demonstrate Du Fu’s poetic craftsmanship; by doing so, they defined Du Fu as a verbal master who was able to use the finest words in poetic composition. The Song literati’s interest in word usage in Du Fu’s poetry was essentially a projection of their own desire to pursue expressional effect in poetic composition, which drove them to learn from Du Fu.