https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7209-4582
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Abstract
This paper investigates a prominent issue in scholarship on one of the best known late Tang poets, Du Mu 杜牧 (803–ca. 852): his traditional image as a libertine, which has been overshadowed the research on his life and works from the pre-modern era to today. Through careful textual and intertextual analyses of various versions of three major anecdotes about Du Mu, associated respectively with the locations of Yangzhou 揚州, Luoyang 洛陽, and Huzhou 湖州, this paper traces the development of the “anecdotal Du Mu,” concluding that his libertine image took shape from the stories and was primarily a reading of later scholars. Beyond its new interpretations of the anecdotes with regard to the traditional libertine image of a specific poet, this study also aims to prompt reconsideration of his poems, and illuminate the dynamic between history and literature in the development of Chinese literary criticism.
Notes on Contributor
Zheng Wen holds a PhD in Chinese literature. Her main areas of interest in research include classical Chinese poetry, poetry criticism and the Analects. She currently is an Adjunct Chinese Instructor at Ohlone College.
Notes
1 The details and different versions of these anecdotes will be introduced in later sections.
2 Examples are plentiful. He Shang 賀裳 (fl. 1681), for instance, wrote the following comment on some of the poems that were attributed to Du Mu: “[What was written in the lines was] mainly about wanton behavior in taverns and the Northern Quarter [where all the brothels were]. When he proclaimed his careless love in the blue towers [referring again to brothels], it was no fiction.” 大抵縱恣於旗亭北里間，自云青樓薄倖，不虛耳. See He Shang, Zaijiu yuan shihua 載酒園詩話in Guo Shaoyu郭紹虞 (1893–1984) comp., Qing shihua xubian 清詩話續編 (Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 1983), 1:224.
3 Du Mu wrote in Li Kan’s 李戡 (?–837) epitaph that Li Kan once criticized Yuan Zhen’s and Bai Juyi’s poetic style in the following words: “I used to greatly resent that, since the Yuanhe (806–820) period, there has been the poetry of Yuan and Bai which is petty, extravagant and indecorous; except for men of complete virtue and men of refinement, most are destroyed by it. It is circulated among the common people, displayed on screens and walls, and fathers of sons and mothers of daughters all taught them. The lascivious words and indecent expressions, like the bitter cold of the winter and scorching heat of the summer, have penetrated into people’s flesh and bones, and cannot be eradicated. I do not have the authority and cannot apply the law in order to discipline it.” 嘗痛自元和以來有元白詩者，纖豔不逞；非莊士雅人，多爲其所破壞；流於民閒，疏於屏壁，子父女母交口教授，淫言媟語，冬寒夏熱，入人肌骨，不可除去。 吾無位，不得用法以治之. Du Mu, “Tang gu Pinglu jun Jiedu xunguan Longxi Lifu jun muzhiming” 唐故平盧軍節度巡官隴西李府君墓誌銘 in Chen Yunji 陳允吉 ed., Du Mu quanji 杜牧全集 (Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 1997), 88. Ye Mengde 葉夢得 (1077–1148), Liu Kezhuang 劉克莊 (1187–1269), Yang Shen 楊慎 (1488–1559) and Zhu Heling 朱鶴齡 (1606–1683), for example, were among many others to disqualify Du Mu from criticizing Yuan and Bai due to his traditional libertine image that they took to be reality. Ye Mengde, Bishu luhua 避暑錄話 (1935; 2nd rpt., Shanghai: Shangwu yinshuguan, 1959), 2.66; Liu Kezhuang, Houcun shihua 後村詩話 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1983), 4.66; Yang Shen, Sheng’an shihua 升庵詩話 in Ding Fubao 丁福保 (1874–1952) comp., Lidai shihua xubian 歷代詩話續編, 3 vols. (1988; 3rd rpt., Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1997), 2:9.820 and Zhu Heling, Yu’an xiaoji 愚庵小集 in Qingdai shiwenji huibian bianzuan weiyuanhui 清代詩文集彙編編篡委員會 comp., Qingdai shiwenji huibian 清代詩文集彙編 (Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 2009), 22:8.695.
4 Most of these discussions concentrate on trying to apply pieces of new historical evidence to support whether the anecdotes are historically true or not. Since such historical evidence can rarely be found, it is difficult to draw a widely accepted conclusion. For example, Miao Yue 繆鉞 investigated the anecdote that was alleged to have happened in Huzhou. He notes that there are mistakes in dates in the anecdote and some details do not match with Du Mu’s biographical information as preserved in historical records. He therefore concludes that the story cannot be a historical fact. Miao Yue, Du Mu nianpu 杜牧年譜 (Beijing: Renmin wenxue chuban she, 1980), 80–82. Yang Guangcai 楊廣才disputes that the old way of keeping account of years, either by using the heavenly stems and earthly branches or by using emperors’ reign titles, could easily cause mistakes, and concludes that the story is true. Yang Guangcai, “Du Mu yu ‘Tanghua’ shi ben shi” 杜牧輿嘆花詩本事, Dongyue luncong 東岳論叢 5 (2004): 118–22. One major argument in Wu Qiming’s 吳企明 brief discussion of the anecdote that was alleged to have happened in Luoyang is that the political situation of the time period when the story was alleged to have happened, would not allow the banquet, the main event in the story, to have been held. He therefore does not consider the “Luoyang story” factual. Wu Qiming, “Du Mu,” in Fu Xuancong 傅璇琮 comp., Tang caizi zhuan jiaojian 唐才子傳校箋 (1999; 2nd rpt., Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 2000), 6.204–5. Liu Yunxia 劉雲霞 counterargues with examples of banquets and gatherings that were still held during that period of time based on poems written by Yuan Zhen, Bai Juyi and Liu Yuxi 劉禹錫 (772–842). She concludes that the story is possibly historically true. Liu Yunxia, “Du Mu ‘Bingbu Shangshu xishang zuo’ xin kao” 杜牧「兵部尚書席上作」新考, Ankang shizhuan xuebao 安康師專學報 2 (2006): 77–79.
5 Wu Zaiqing 吳在慶, “Du Mu de yingxiang ji xuexi de youguan wenti” 杜牧的影響和學習的有關問題 in Du Mu lungao 杜牧論稿 (Xiamen: Xiamen daxue chubanshe, 1990), 286–94.
6 Stephen Owen, The Late Tang: Chinese Poetry of the Mid-Ninth Century (827–860) (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Asia Center: Distributed by Harvard University Press, 2006), 266–67. Interestingly, in a later book, regarding the record of Du Mu burning many of his own works before his death, Owen made the following comments: “ … Later in his [Du Mu’s] life, perhaps aware of his reputation as a rake, Du Mu radically pruned his collected works. Since many poems on the pleasures of Jiangnan remain, we can only speculate on what was excluded … ” (Stephen Owen, “The Cultural Tang (650–1020),” in Kang-i Sun Chang and Stephen Owen, ed., The Cambridge History of Chinese Literature [New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010], 1:351). Apparently, Owen overlooked that burning his own poems seems to have been a habit of Du Mu’s, as he wrote: “I have no talent in it [poetry], [but] only have its poetic strangeness. After a piece of work was completed on paper, I often burned it myself.” 既無其才，徒有其奇，篇成在紙，多自焚之 (Du Mu, “Xian shi qi” 獻詩啓, in Chen Yunji ed., Du Mu quanji, 153). While the exact meaning of cai 才 (talent) and qi 奇 (strangeness) is worthy of further analysis, the point I wanted to make here is the strong influence of the libertine image of Du Mu. Although Owen had previously questioned the libertine image of Du Mu, in this later work quoted above, he seemed to be more influenced by the traditional image than any reservations he had earlier. Jinghua Wangling, a researcher on ninth-century poetry about female entertainers uses Du Mu in her dissertation, “Singing Lips in Observation: Ninth-Century Chinese Poetry on female Entertainers,” as an example for discussing how ninth century poets displayed their self-images as fengliu (which she defines as “romantically devoted, sentimental, gallant or humorous”) poets. Like Owen, she also argues that Du Mu intentionally displayed a fengliu poetic personality which “serve[d] as the basis” for his fengliu reputation. Her argument is based quite heavily on her discussion about the poems that were burned by Du Mu. She observes reasonably that “we do not know if Du Mu intentionally excluded those poems about entertainers when he was making a selection for his literary collection in order to pass down his literary reputation as he wanted, or they are misattributed or even made-up poems.” However, her claim that “what we know, however, is that what was burned is different from what was selected” is less certain. Since Pei Yanhan 裴延翰, Du Mu’s nephew and the compiler of the Fanchuan ji 樊川集 (see note 22 for more detail about Pei Yanhan and the Fanchuan ji), the collection of Du Mu’s works, never indicated which of the poems in the Fanchuan ji were burned by Du Mu and added back in by him, I do not think that there is a way for us to tell whether the poems burned by Du Mu were different from the ones he kept and even if they were differentiable, whether they were different only in quality by Du Mu’s standard (as suggested by Du Mu’s own claim about why he frequently burned his own work). To support the same argument, Wangling also claimed that “Pei Yanhan was not the only one who preserved what was burned by Du Mu. There were two supplementary collections (Waiji 外集 and Bieji 別集) in the early Northern Song.” The problem with such a claim is that there has never been evidence to prove the authorship of the majority of the poems in the Waiji 外集 (Outer Collection) and the Bieji 別集 (Separate Collection), let alone to prove that they were burned by Du Mu. Indeed, it has been well known in the field of Du Mu research that the reliability of both the Waiji and the Bieji were questioned by scholars since the Southern Song 南宋 dynasty (1127–1279). Although Wangling wrote that Du Mu’s fengliu reputation “was enriched and shaped in anecdotal collections, poetry, song lyrics, and even dramas … ”, however, her discussion mainly concentrates on how anecdotes, poetry, song lyrics and dramas helped spread Du Mu’s already existent fengliu reputation. For example, with regards to anecdotes, Wangling discussed how they provide context to the relevant poems and display his fengliu poetic personality. Considering the problems in her argument that the “fengliu reputation” was displayed in the poems Du Mu tried to hide but was preserved by others, I think the foundation of the logic in her overall discussion about Du Mu’s fengliu reputation is not solid enough. Jinghua Wangling, “Singing Lips in Observation: Ninth-Century Chinese Poetry on female Entertainers” (PhD diss., Harvard University, 2009), 184–85, 195, 193, 195 and 184–85.
7 In two early studies about Du Mu from the 1930s, for example, Xu Yukun 徐裕昆 and Wang Shuping 王叔苹 both cite the three anecdotes to illustrate Du Mu’s temperament and personality. Xu Yukun 徐裕昆, “Du Fanchuan pingzhuan” 杜樊川评传, Guanghua daxue banyuekan 光華大學半月刊 4.2 (1935): 87–89; Wang Shuping 王叔苹, “Shiren Du Mu” 詩人杜牧, Wenyi yuekan 文藝月刊 10.2 (1937): 49–50. Miao Yue, who wrote the first edition of his Du Mu nianpu at the beginning of the 1940s, argues against the reliability of the anecdote located in Huzhou (see note 4), but he does not seem to have had any doubts about the other two stories. He actually included one of them in his later book Du Mu zhuan 杜牧傳 as part his account of Du Mu’s life. Miao Yue, Du Mu nianpu, 32–33, 38, and 80–82; Du Mu zhuan 杜牧傳 (Beijing: Renmin wenxue chubanshe, 1977), 38. Since Miao’s two books are foundational studies in modern research on Du Mu, they have had significant influence on all later scholars. Yan Kunyang 顏崑陽, Cao Zhongfu 曹中孚, Wang Xiping 王西平, Zhang Tian 張田, and Feng Hairong 馮海榮 all use one or more of the anecdotes to illustrate Du Mu’s life. Yan Kunyang 顏崑陽, Du Mu 杜牧 (Taipei: Heluo tushu chubanshe, 1978); Cao Zhongfu 曹中孚, Wan Tang shiren Du Mu 晚唐詩人杜牧 (Xi’an: Shanxi renmin chubanshe, 1985); Wang Xiping 王西平 and Zhang Tian 張田, Du Mu pingzhuan 杜牧評傳 (Xi’an: Shanxi renmin chubanshe, 1987); Feng Hairong 馮海榮, Du Mu 杜牧 (Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 1991). Wen-kai Kung also includes the anecdote located in Yangzhou in his discussion of Du Mu’s life. Wen-kai Kung, Tu Mu (803–852), His Life and Poetry (San Francisco: Chinese Materials Center Publications, 1990), 11–12.
8 For instance, regarding Du Mu’s position in the Niu-Li factional strife (Niu-Li dangzheng 牛李黨爭), Zhu Bilian 朱碧蓮 and Kou Yanghou 寇養厚 state that the reason Du Mu was personally close to Niu Sengru 牛僧孺 (779–847) was because Niu took good care of Du Mu, as described in the anecdote located in Yangzhou 揚州. Zhu Bilian 朱碧蓮, “Lun Du Mu yu Niu-Li dang zheng” 論杜牧與牛李黨爭, Wenxue yichan 文學遺產 2 (1989): 69–78; Kou Yanghou 寇養厚, “Du Mu yu Niu-Li dang zheng” 杜牧與牛李黨爭, Wenshizhe 文史哲 4 (1988): 46–53. Fu Xinren 傅锡壬also applied this same story and the story claimed to have happened in Huzhou 湖州to support his argument about Du Mu’s good relationship with Niu. Fu Xinren 傅锡壬, Niu-Li dangzheng yu Tangdai wenxue 牛李黨爭與唐代文學 (Taipei: Dongda tushu youxian gongxi, 1984), 268–78. Fang Jianming 方堅銘 even argues that Du Mu was a member of the Niu faction. He points to all three anecdotes as evidence of Du Mu’s licentious personal life and claims this lifestyle was the reason why the Li faction was “disgusted” by Du Mu. Fang Jianming 方堅銘, Niu-Li dangzheng yu zhong wan Tang wenxue 牛李黨爭與中晚唐文學 (Beijing: Zhongguo shehui kexue chubanshe, 2009), 231–32. Li Runqiang 李潤強 quotes the Yangzhou story not only to explain Du Mu’s good relationship with Niu, but also Du Mu’s compliments to Niu in the epitaph he wrote for him. Li Runqiang 李潤強, Lishi, shehui yu wenxue: Niu-Li dangzheng yanjiu de xin shiye 歷史、社會與文學：牛李黨爭研究的新視野 (Beijing: Renmin chubanshe, 2012), 299–300. Zhao Rongwei 趙榮蔚 also considers the story in Yangzhou to be a good explanation for why Du Mu remained close to Niu Sengru even though he thinks that Du Mu’s relationship with the Niu faction and the Li faction changed over time. Zhao Rongwei 趙榮蔚, Wan Tang shifeng yu shifeng 晚唐士風與詩風 (Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 2004), 279–304.
9 “Poems of seductive allure” is Anna Shields’ translation of yanshi 艷詩. Anna Shields, “Defining Experience: The ‘Poems of Seductive Allure’ (yanshi) of the Mid-Tang Poet Yuan Zhen (779–831),” Journal of the American Oriental Society 122.1 (2002): 61–78.
10 For example, Zhang Gongchang 張弓長 wrote:“Just from the titles [of works like] ‘Zhang Haohao’ 張好好, ‘Huaqing xuan’ 華清玄, ‘Yangzhou’ 揚州, ‘Jian Liu Xiucai yu Chizhou ji’ 見劉秀才與池州妓, ‘Buyin zeng guanji’ 不飲贈官妓, ‘Dai Wuxing ji chunchu ji Xue Junshi’ 代吳興妓春初寄薛軍事, ‘Guiqing’ 閨情 and ‘Yong wai’ 詠襪, we can understand how rich are the eroticism and amorousness presented in his works. In his whole life, he took pride in his own talent and free spirit, greeting the willows and seeking the flowers. Of his best-known quatrains, most are paeans to female entertainers in the blue towers. As for the suffering of the people in the society, this talented and romantic scholar never paid attention to them. Only romantic and amorous stories served as the materials for his writing.” 「張好好」、「華清玄」、「揚州」、「見劉秀才與池州妓」、「不飲贈官妓」、「代吳興妓春初寄薛軍事」、「閨情」、「詠襪」，單就題目而言，便可知悉他的作品中所表現的色情和香艷，是多麼的濃厚。他一生風流自賞，問柳尋花。他的幾首有名的絕句，大半都是歌詠青樓妓女的，社會民間的疾苦，這位風流才子，從不留意，只有浪漫香豔的故事，才是他寫作的資料. Zhang Gongchang, Zhongguo jinü yu wenxue 中國妓女與文學 (Taipei: Changchunshu shufang, 1975), 75.
11 For example, Xu Bohong 徐伯鴻, “Shilun Du Mu funü ticai de shi” 試論杜牧婦女題材的詩, Xinyang shifan xueyuan xuebao 信陽師範學院學報 2 (1987): 48–53; Guo Qiyun’s 郭其云, “Du Mu yanshi xi” 杜牧艷詩析, Xueshu luntan 學術論壇 1 (1989): 58–61; Zhang Xuezhong 張學忠 and Bai Rui 白銳, “Dui Du Mu yanqing shi de fansi” 對杜牧艷情詩的反思, Tangdu xuekan 唐都學刊 2 (2003): 5–7; Wang Dan 王丹, “Du Mu Yangzhou shenghuo zai renshi” 杜牧揚州生活再認識, Sanxia daxue xuebao 三峽大學學報 3 (2004): 48–50 and Liu Yanping 劉艷萍, “Zhong wan Tang yanti shige yanjiu” 中晚唐艷體詩歌研究 (PhD diss., Beijing Normal University, 2006), 42–46.
12 Yu Xianhao 郁賢浩, Tang Cishi kao quanbian 唐刺史考全編 (Hefei: Anhui daxue chubanshe, 2000), 140.1954–55.
13 The Taiping guangji 太平廣記 (juan 273) includes all three anecdotal stories and indicates at the end of the entry that the stories were recorded from the Tang queshi. However, comparing the text of the “Huzhou story” in the extant Tang queshi with the one in the Taiping guanji, the wording is very different. In fact, the three stories in the Taiping guangji are almost identical to the ones in the Yangzhou mengji. I suspect that the compiler of the Taiping guangji probably mistakenly wrote the Tang queshi for the Yangzhou mengji as the source of the stories. Wenjinge Siku quanshu 文津閣四庫全書 (Beijing: Shangwu yinshuguan, 2006, hereafter SKQS), 273.3b–7a. Jinghua Wangling thinks that the Tang queshi originally contained all three stories. I wonder if it was because of the possibly incorrect source indicated in the Taiping guangji. She did not cite sources when she claims that the Yangzhou mengji was attributed to Yu Ye as an independent work, but was probably a Ming creation. This claim does not seem to be valid considering that the three almost identical stories already appeared together in the Tangping guangji. Jinghua Wangling, “Singing Lips in Observation: Ninth-Century Chinese Poetry on female Entertainers,” 209.
14 According to the Xin Tangshu “Yiwenzhi” zhulu xiaoshuo jijie 新唐書藝文志著錄小說集解, the Zhitian lu was first recorded in the “Yiwenzhi” 藝文志 of the Xin Tangshu 新唐書 and the Junzhai dushu zhi 郡齋讀書志 without a compiler’s name. The Junzhai dushu zhi however, indicates that there are six hundred entries in the Zhitian lu referring to events in the Sui 隋 (581–618) and Tang 唐 (618–907). The Yeke congshu 野客叢書 by Wang Mao 王楙 (1151–1213) is the first book that is extant today and quotes the Zhitian lu with Ding Yonghui’s name as its compiler. The Jinxiu wanhua gu 錦繡萬花谷 and the Shuofu 說郛 quote and follow the Yeke congshu with regards to the compiler’s name, as did scholars in the Ming 明 (1368–1644) and Qing 清 (1616–1911) dynasties. While the original Zhitian lu did not survive, forty-seven out of the original six hundred entries can still be seen today in books such as the Taiping guangji, the Ganzhu ji 紺珠集, the Leishuo 類說 and the Shuofu 說孚. Wang Qizhou 王齊洲 and Bi Caixia 畢彩霞 comp., Xin Tangshu “Yiwenzhi” zhulu xiaoshuo jijie 新唐書藝文志著錄小說集解 (Changsha: Yuelu shushe, 2009), 679–80. Zhou Xunchu 周勛初 thinks that Ding Yonghui lived in the mid to late Tang according to what was collected in the Zhitian lu. Zhou Xunchu 周勛初, “Tangdai biji xiaoshuo de cailiao laiyuan” 唐代筆記小說的材料來源, Tangdai wenxue yanjiu 唐代文學研究 2 (2002): 39. Chen Shangjun 陳尚君, however, argues that Ding Yonghui lived either at the end of the Tang or during the Five Dynasties 五代 (907–979). Chen Shangjun, “the Zhitian lu” in Zhou Zuzhuan 周祖譔 (1926–2010) et al. comp., Zhongguo wenxuejia dacidian 中國文學家大辭典 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1992), 1–2. I adopt Chen Shangjun’s dating in this paper.
15 Meng Qi 孟棨, Benshi shi 本事詩, in Meng Qi et al., eds., Benshi shi Xu benshi shi Benshi ci 本事詩續本事詩本事詞 (Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 1991), 4. Gong Fangqin 龔方琴, however, argues that the date that was indicated in the preface was for reflecting Meng’s attitude to a political upheaval rather than the completion of the book. During Emperor Xizong’s 僖宗 (r. 873–888) reign, Li Yun 李熅 (d. 887) was put on the throne in the tenth month of the second year of Guangqi 光啟 era (886) by Zhu Mei 朱玫 (d. 886), the Military Commissioner of Binzhou 邠州. The reign title was temporarily changed to Yongzhen 永貞 at that time. Gong thinks that in order to show his loyalty to Emperor Xizong and his objection to Li Yun, Meng purposely backdated his preface to the eleventh month of the second year of Guangqi. From an entry in the Benshi shi referring to the post of Sikong Tu 司空圖 (837–908) as Grand Master of Remonstrance 諫議大夫, Gong argues that the completion of the Benshi shi should be after the first year of the Jingfu 景福 era (892). Gong Fangqin, “Benshi shi chengshu niandai xinkao” 本事詩成書年代新考, Gudai wenxian yanjiu 古代文獻研究 6 (2010): 301–14. Li Yun was on the throne for roughly two months and there was a six year difference between the second year of the Guangqi era and the first year of the Jingfu era. The idea that Meng would have backdated his preface six years simply because of a brief period of political upheaval is not very convincing. Meanwhile, dating the book either to 886 or later than 892 does not make much difference for the discussion in this paper. I have therefore adopted Meng Qi’s dating.
16 Gao Yanxiu 高彥休 (b. 874), “Queshi xu” 闕史序in Yulan Tang queshi 御覽唐闕史 in Yan Yiping 嚴一萍, comp., Baibu congshu jicheng 百部叢書集成 (Taipei: Yiwen yinshuguan, 1966, hereafter Baibu congshu), 1a/b and Yong Rong 永瑢 (1744–1790) et al., Siku quanshu zongmu tiyao 四庫全書總目提要 (Shanghai: Shangwu yinshuguan, 1933), 142.82.
17 According to the “Mingzong ji” 明宗紀, Yu Ye was appointed as a Director of the Ministry of Works (gongbu langzhong 工部郎中). His superior Lu Wenji’s 盧文紀 (876–951) father had the same given name. Usually, when a subordinate had the same given name as his superior’s father or grandfather, the subordinate would be reappointed to a different post. However, because Lu Wenji had a poor relationship with the Grand Councilor of the time, Yu Ye was not reappointed. Later, Lu Wenji sent Yu Ye somewhere else, but he did not go. Lu Wenji therefore complained about him and wanted to reappoint Yu Ye. Yu Ye was upset and subsequently hanged himself. Lu Wenji was demoted for Yu Ye’s death. Xue Juzheng 薛居正 (912–981) et al., Jiu Wudai shi 舊五代史 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1976), 2:39.535. A similar record can also be found in Ouyang Xiu 歐陽修 (1007–1072), Xin Wudai shi 新五代史 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1974), 2:55.627–28.
18 The translation of the official title is adopted from Charles O. Hucker, A Dictionary of Official Titles in Imperial China (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1985). Unless otherwise indicated, the official titles in this paper are taken from this source.
19 Yu Ye 于鄴 (fl. 867), Yangzhou mengji 揚州夢記 (Shanghai: Shangwu yishuguan, 1939), 2a/b and Meng Qi, Benshi shi, 3.18–19.
20 Meng Qi, Benshi shi, 3.17–18.
21 Ibid.
22 According to “Zaixiang shixi” 宰相世系 in the Xin Tangshu 新唐書, Pei Yanhan 裴延翰 (fl. 852), style name Bofu 伯甫, was a Commandant of Lantian (Lantian Wei 藍田尉) and a Subeditor of Academy of Scholarly Worthies (jixian jiaoli 集賢校理). His father was Pei Chou 裴俦 (fl. 825), a Surveillance Commissioner of Jiangxi (Jiangxi guancha shi 江西觀察史). Ouyang Xiu 歐陽修 (1007–1072) and Song Qi 宋祁 (998–1062), Xin Tangshu 新唐書 (1975; 8th rpt., Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 2006), 71a.2231. Pei Yanhan was Du Mu’s nephew. According to Pei, after Du Mu’s death, he gathered the manuscripts Du Mu had sent to him over the years and those left by Du Mu, and compiled them into a collection of twenty juan 卷 (fascicle), titled Fanchuan ji 樊川集. It includes not only Du Mu’s poetry, but also his fu 賦 (prose poems) and other works in the genres of zhuan 傳 (biographies), lü 錄 (memoranda), lun 論 (essays), bian 辯 (arguments), bei 碑 (inscriptions), zhi 志 (commemorations), xu 序 (prefaces), ji 記 (records), shu 書 (letters), qi 啟 (disclosures), biao 表 (memorials) and zhi 制 (decrees). Pei Yanhan, “Fanchuan wenji xu” 樊川文集序 in Chen Yunji ed. Du Mu quanji, 1. Pei’s Fanchuan ji is the only reliable collection of Du Mu’s works. Many poems collected outside this collection and added in the Waiji or the Bieji have been suspect since the Southern Song Dynasty.
23 Another example Yu Cailin provided is a story about Cui Hu 崔護 (jinshi 796) and its relation to his well-known poem titled “Ti Ducheng nan zhuang” 題都城南庄. Yu Cailin 余才林, Tangshi benshi yanjiu 唐詩本事研究 (Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 2010), 126–27.
24 Li Sheng 李晟 (727–794) recovered Chang’an in May 784 from Zhu Ci 朱泚 (742–784) during Zhu’s rebellion. Zhu fled westward and was killed by his subordinates on the way. For more detail about Zhu Ci’s rebellion, see Liu Xun 劉咰 (fl. 940) et al., Jiu Tangshu 舊唐書 (1975; in 7th reprint, Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 2002), 200b.5385–90 and Ouyang Xiu and Song Qi, Xin Tangshu, 225b.6441–50. For the merit of recovering Chang’an and his well-trained and disciplined army, Li Sheng was granted the title of Duke Xiping (Xiping wang 西平王). For more detail about Li Sheng, see Liu Xun et al., Jiu Tangshu, 133.3661–76 and Ouyang Xiu and Song Qi, Xin Tangshu, 154.4863–73.
25 Miao Yue further argues that the Minister of Instruction Li was Li Ting 李聽 (778–839), another son of Li Sheng. Miao Yue, Du Mu nianpu, 38. Wu Qiming 吳企明 has a different opinion (see note 4).
26 Gong 觥 is a vessel in the shape of a beast for drinking wine.
27 Wang Zhi 王銍 (fl. 1143), Bu shier xiaoming lu 補侍兒小名錄 in the Bihai 稗海 in Baibu congshu, 5a–6a.
28 Hu Zi 胡仔 (fl. 1147–1167), Tiaoxi yuyin conghua 苕溪漁隱叢話 (Taipei: Shijie shuju, 1976), 3:15b.1506.
29 Hu Zi, Tiaoxi yuyin conghua, 3:15b.1505.
30 Luo Ning 羅寧 and Zhang Keran 張克然, “Shier xiaoming lu shikao” 侍兒小名錄詩考in Zhou Yukai 周裕鍇, ed., Songdai wenxue guoji yantaohui lunwenji 宋代文學國際研討會論文集 (Chengdu: Sichuan chuban jituan bashu shushe, 2011), 616–17.
31 For example, the Taiping guangji, the Tangshi jishi 唐詩紀事 compiled by Ji Yougong 計有功 (Jinshi 1121), and the Gujin shihua 古今詩話 compiled by Li Yumin 李裕民. Although often quoted, Li Yumin’s Gujin shihua is not extant today. According to Luo Genze’s 羅根澤 (1900–1960) study, Gujin shihua was compiled after the Yuanfeng 元豐 period (1078–1085) but no later than the Jianyan 建炎 period (1127–1130). Luo Genze 羅根澤 (1900–1960), Zhongguo wenxue piping shi 中國文學批評史 (Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 1984), 1:274. The citations in the Tangshi jishi and Gujin shihua were, in turn, repeatedly quoted by other pre-modern books. For example, the Gujin shihua was quoted by the Shihua zonggui 詩話總龜 by Ruan Yue 阮閱 (jinshi 1085), the Shilin guangji 詩林廣記 by Cai Zhengsun 蔡正孫 (b. 1239), and the Shiren yuxue 詩人玉屑 by Wei Qingzhi 魏慶之 (fl. 1240). The Tangshi jishi was quoted by the Peiwen yunfu 佩文韻府 by Zhang Yushu 張玉書 (1642–1711), and the Pianzi leibian 騈字類編 by Zhang Tingyu 張廷玉 (1672–1755).
32 For example, the Gujin hebi shilei beiyao 古今合璧事類備要 by Xie Weixin 謝維新 (fl. 1257) and the Gujin shiwen leiju 古今事文類聚 by Zhu Mu 祝穆 [n.d. His son Zhu Zhu 祝洙 (jinshi 1256)]. See Xie Weixin, Gujin hebi shilei beiyao in SKQS, 53.2b–3a and Zhu Mu’s Gujin shiwen leiju, in the Gujin hebi shilei beiyao in SKQS, 17.3b–4a.
33 The Nine li and Thirty Steps Street was the busiest street in Yangzhou in the Tang dynasty, which was also referred to as the Ten li Street 十里長街 in Tang poetry when the thirty steps were rounded up.
34 Yu Ye, Yangzhou mengji, 1a–2a.
35 Niu Sengru 牛僧孺 (779–847), style name Si’an 思黯, served twice as a Grand Councilor during the reigns of Xuanzong 宣宗 (r. 847–872) and Wenzong 文宗 (r. 826–840), and was also one of the leaders of the Niu faction in the famous Niu-Li factional strife. He was from the same hometown as Du Mu and had a good relationship with Shen Chuanshi 沈傳師 (769–827), who was the first superior official Du Mu worked for. Niu Sengru’s biography can be found in Liu Xun et al., Jiu Tangshu, 172.4469–73 and Ouyang Xiu and Song Qi, Xin Tangshu, 174.5229–32. See also Li Runqiang 李潤強, Niu Sengru yanjiu 牛僧孺研究 (Lanzhou: Gansu renmin chubanshe, 2002); Ding Ding 丁鼎, Niu Sengru nianpu 牛僧孺年譜 (Shenyang: Liaohai chubanshe, 1997); Zhu Gui 朱桂, Niu Sengru yanjiu 牛僧孺研究 (Taipei: Zhengzhong shuju, 1976) and Min Wong Park, “Niu Seng-ju (780–847) and His Hsuan-Kuai lu” (PhD diss., University of Wisconsin, 1993).
36 The Shuofu 說孚 in SKQS, 38B.16a and 47A.16a.
37 Zhou Xunchu 周勛初, ed., Tang yulin jiaozheng 唐語林校証 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1987), 7.621–22.
38 The story tells that Du Mu’s son Huici 晦辭 liked beautiful women just as his father did. Once he passed through Changzhou 常州 and attended a gathering hosted by the Prefect Li Dan 李贍. In the midst of the gathering, he cried aloud when he had to say goodbye to a female entertainer who was under register at Changzhou. Li Dan said to Huici that he did not need to be like that for an entertainer and subsequently gave the woman to Huici. Huici was so happy that he did not wait to change his clothes after the gathering and walked back to his boat to tell his wife. His wife was not a jealous woman and accepted the entertainer with no problem. Zhou Xunchu ed., Tang yulin, 2:7.622.
39 Du You 杜佑 (735–812), Du Mu’s grandfather, not only served as a Grand Councilor under emperors Dezong 德宗 (r. 779–805), Shunzong 順宗 (r. 805) and Xianzong 憲宗 (r. 805–820), but also compiled the Tongdian 通典, the first encyclopedia of governmental affairs in Chinese history. His biographies can be found in Liu Xun et al., Jiu Tangshu, 147.3978–83 and Ouyang Xiu and Song Qi, Xin Tangshu, 166.5085–90.
40 The poem, titled “Liu hui Caoshi deng shi” 留誨曹師等詩, goes like this:
The myriad things have ugliness and beauty, 萬物有醜好，
Each distinguishes itself by its posture and shape, 各一姿狀分。
Only man is not so; 唯人即不而，
What counts is whether he learns or not. 學與不學論。
Learning is not the search for its vain glory, 學非探其花，
The importance comes from probing into the root: 要自撥其根。
Filial love, fraternal love, sincerity, and honesty, 孝友與誠實，
And not forgetting your promises. 而不忘爾言。
When the roots are deep and solid, 根本既深實，
The branches and leaves naturally flourish. 柯葉自滋繁。
My concern is that you will not neglect this admonition, 念爾無忽此，
And I hope you will bring blessings upon our family. 期以慶吾門。
(Du Mu, “Liuhui Caoshi deng shi” 留誨曹師等詩, in Chen Yunjie ed., Du Mu quanji, 202. English translation is modified from Wen-kai Kung, Tu Mu [803–852] His Life and Poetry, 35.)
In this poem, Du Mu encourages his sons to study (xue 學) for “the root” (gen 根), which he clarifies by singling out the concepts of traditional Confucian virtues: filial piety (xiao 孝), fraternal love (you 友), sincerity (cheng 誠), honesty (shi 實), and truthfulness (xin 信). In the Lunyu 論語, these virtues are not only highly valued by Confucius himself, but are also repeatedly discussed by both Confucius and his disciples. Du Mu expresses in this poem his hope that his sons can thrive in their studies by acquiring these virtues and bringing honor to the family.
41 Zhou Xunchu ed., Wang Dang, Tang yulin, 2:622 and Liu Chongyuan 劉崇遠 (fl. 940), Jinhuazi zabian Zhongchao gushi 金華子雜編中朝故事 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1985), 12. Both the transitional section and the story about Du Mu’s son were simplified in the Tangyu lin version as compared to the ones in the Jinhuazi zabian.
42 Zhou Xunchu ed., Tang yulin, 1:1–2.
43 Xie Baocheng 謝保成 discusses the errors contained in the Yongle dadian, and argues that the book has many mistakes and omissions and that the compilers sometimes deleted or changed the texts they quoted. Two examples Xie provides in support of this argument are from the Tang yulin. Xie may be correct about the compilers of the Yongle dadian, but the problems in the Yongle dadian relevant to the Tang yulin could also have been inherited from the Tang yulin itself. According to the official compilers of the Siku quanshu, even the copy of the Tang yulin they had for the Siku quanshu had many errors and omissions, and the texts frequently did not make sense. See the compilers’ comments in the Siku quanshu tiyao about the Tang yulin in Wang Baoding 王保定 and Wang Dang, Tang zhiyan Tang yulin 唐摭言唐語林 (Taipei: Shijie shuju, 1962), 2–3. Xie’s article “Yongle dadian de jiazhi liuchuan he liyong” 永樂大典的價值流傳和利用can be found in the National Library of China comp., Yongle dadian bianzuan liubai zhounian guoji yantaohui lunwenji 永樂大典編纂600周年國際研討會論文集 (Beijing: Beijing tushuguan chubanshe, 2003), 135–42.
44 Wang Baoding and Wang Dang, Tang zhiyan Tang yulin, 2.
45 Zhu Mu 祝穆, Fangyu shenglan 方輿勝覽 (Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 2012), 405.
46 Du Mu, “Qian huai” 遣懷, Chen Yunji ed., Du Mu quanji, 205. English translation is modified from Owen, The Late Tang, 287. This poem will be discussed later in this paper.
47 Hu Zi, Tiaoxi yuyin conghua, 3:1500–1501.
48 The following are but some of many examples. With regard to Du Mu and his poetry in general, Zhang Rong 張戎 (jinshi 1125) states:
Du Muzhi’s poems are only capable of containing fabulous silk fabrics and rouge and powder.
杜牧之詩只知有綺羅脂粉。
Du Ziwei [Du Mu] was extremely disordered.
杜紫微極為狼藉。
49 Qiao Ji’s 喬吉 (1280–1345) Du Muzhi shijiu Yangzhou meng 杜牧之詩酒揚州夢is one such work. Under Qiao’s pen, Zhang Haohao, the female entertainer in Du Mu’s poem “Zhang Haohao shi,” becomes the heroine. Du Mu, a Court Calligrapher of the Hanlin Academy (Hanlin shidu 翰林侍讀) first knows Zhang when she is thirteen years old as a servant of Zhang Shangzhi 張尚之, the Governor of Yuzhang 豫章 (today’s Jangxi province). Three years later, he meets Zhang again at Niu Sengru’s house in Yangzhou when Niu is the Governor of Yangzhou. At that time, Zhang has been adopted by Niu. Du Mu recognizes Zhang and wants to meet her again, but Niu rejects his attempts. Another three years later, Niu goes back to the capital where Du Mu still is in the same post. A man named Bai Wenli 白文禮, with whom Du Mu associated at Yangzhou three years earlier, helps Du Mu persuade Niu to marry Zhang to Du Mu. Niu finally consents and Du Mu and Zhang are happily married. See Qiao Ji 喬吉 (1280–1345), Du Muzhi shijiu Yangzhou meng 杜牧之詩酒揚州夢 in the Xuxiu Siku quanshu 續修四庫全書 (Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 2002), 46.383–94.
50 The governmental office was in the south of modern Huzhou 湖州, Zhejiang 浙江province.
51 Modern Xuancheng 宣城 in Anhui 安徽 province.
52 Gao Yanxiu 高彥休, Tang queshi 唐闕史 in SKQS, A.21a. The punctuation was added by the author of this paper.
53 Poems as early as in the Shijing 詩經 use chun 春 with the meaning of love between lovers. For example, in the poem “Ye you sijun” 野有死麕, there is a line saying “Younü huai chun” 有女懷春 (There is a woman who has thoughts of love). See Shijing, 23/1.
54 Yu Ye, Yangzhou mengji, 3a–4a. The punctuation was added by the author of this paper.
55 Zhou Chi 周墀 (793–851), style name Desheng 德升, served as a Grand Councilor from 848 to 849 during Emperor Xuanzong’s 宣宗 reign (r. 847–858). His official biography can be found in Ouyang Xiu et al., Xin Tangshu, 17:177.5270–71. According to Du Mu’s own writing, the friendship between Zhou Chi and Du Mu started from the time when Du Mu was a boy and lasted until the death of Zhou Chi. See Du Mu, “Ji Zhou Xianggong wen” 祭周相公文, Chen Yunji ed., Du Mu quanji, 131.
56 Cui Yuanliang 崔元亮 (jinshi 796) is also written as Cui Xuanliang 崔玄亮. As previously mentioned, in addition to Cui Yuanliang, Yu Xianhao also included “a certain Cui” 崔某as the Prefect of Huzhou for the period of time from approximately 832 to 833 based on the “Huzhou story” collected in the Tangshi jishi and Quan Tangshi 全唐詩. See Yu Xianhao 郁賢浩, Tang cishi kao quanbian 唐刺史考全編 (Hefei: Anhui daxue chubanshe, 2000), 3:1954–55.
57 Hu Kexian 胡可先, “Du Mu jiaoyou kaolüe” 杜牧交遊考略, in his Du Mu yanjiu conggao 杜牧研究叢稿 (Beijing: Renmin wenxue chubanshe, 1993), 25.
58 The Dahe 大和 (sometimes written Taihe 太和) period lasted from 826 to 835. The Yangzhou mengji claims that the “Huzhou story” happens at the end of the period which was 835. In fact, based on Miao Yue’s Du Mu nianpu, Du Mu was still in the post of Investigating Censor in 835. He left the post in 837 to bring a doctor to Yangzhou to treat his brother, so he could only have made the alleged first trip to Huzhou after that.
59 Hu Zi, Tiaoxi yuyin conghua, 3:1501–3.
60 Liu Xun’s 劉壎 (1240–1319), Yinju tongyi 隱居通議 (Taipei: Guangwen shuju, 1971), 1:10.296–97.
61 Xie Weixin 謝維新 (fl. 1257), Gujin hebi shilei beiyao qianji 古今合璧事類備要前集 in SKQS, 53.3a and Zhu Mu, Gujin shiwen leiju houji 古今事文類聚後集in SKQS, 17.4b.
62 Zhou Xunchu ed., Wang Dang, Tang yulin, 2:624.
63 “The elder one” refers to Du Zao 杜慥. Du Mu called Zao “zhangxiang” 長兄 (elder brother), but Zao was not Du Mu’s biological brother. Ling Jiamin 凌家民 thinks that Du Zao was a cousin of Du Mu who was adopted by Du Mu’s parents. See Ling Jiamin 凌家民, “Guanyu Du Mu de zhangxiong” 關於杜牧的長兄 in Xuelin manbu 學林漫步 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1985), 11:107–11. Before requesting to be transferred to Huzhou, in a letter to a Grand Councilor seeking the post of the Prefect of Hangzhou 杭州, Du Mu stated his financial difficulties and pointed out that if he stayed in the capital, he could not earn enough money to support his younger brother Du Yi 杜顗 (807–851), Du Zao, and his sister. Du Mu, “Shang Zaixiang qiu Hangzhou qi” 上宰相求杭州啟 in Chen Yunji ed., Du Mu quanji, 158–59.
64 Cai Zhengsun 蔡正孫 (b. 1239), Shilin guangji 詩林廣記 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1982), 6.115–16.
65 Ibid.
66 Dong Sizhang, Wuxing beizhi 吳興備志 in SKQS, 27.15b.
67 Although having Yangzhou in the title, the story is not limited to Yangzhou. In Ji Yongren’s drama, with help of a woman named Han Geniang 韓歌娘, Ziyun tricks her lord Li Yuan 李願, the Minister of Instruction. She manages to move out of Li Yuan’s residence and marry Du Mu. Lüye, however, has to endure a lot of hardships. Du Mu misunderstands her when he comes back to Huzhou to be the Prefect and mistakenly rules that Lüye should stay in the marriage she was forced into without her prior knowledge before Du Mu’s return. Eventually, Lüye is sold to a brothel in Yangzhou and, because she refuses to entertain guests, she is tortured. At this time Du Mu is an Administrator (Canjun 參軍) in Yangzhou. He meets Lüye at the banquet hosted by Niu Sengru, who is the Military Commissioner (Jiedu shi 節度使) of the area. After the banquet, Du Mu goes to the brothel to meet with Lüye and discovers what really happened during the preceding years. Meanwhile, Niu hears about Lüye and removes her from the registry and brings her to Du Mu’s residence to marry him. Ji Yongren 嵇永仁 (1627–1676), Yangzhou meng 揚州夢 (Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 1986).
68 Hanyu da cidian bianji weiyuanhui漢語大詞典編輯委員會ed., Hanyu da cidian 漢語大詞典, (1997; 4th rpt., Shanghai: Hanyu da cidian chubanshe, 2005), 3:5546.
69 Owen, The Late Tang, 287; Wen-kai Kung, Tu Mu (803–852), His Life and Poetry, 78; David Young and Jiann Lin, Out on the Autumn River: Selected Poems of Du Mu (Akron Ohio: Rager Media, 2007), 136; R. F. Burton, Plantains in the Rain (London: Wellsweep Press, 1990), 27.
70 Zhang Xiang 張相, Shi ci qu yu cidian 詩詞曲語辭典, (2009; 2nd rpt., Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 2014), 668.
71 Zhanghua shuju bianju bu 中華書局編輯部, Quan Tang shi 全唐詩 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1999), 898.10219.
72 Ibid.
73 Ibid., 895.10182.
74 Miao Yue, Du Mu zhuan, 56.
75 Du Mu wrote a poem “Li Gan shi” 李甘詩 years later in memory of this friend of him, in which he recalled the situation at the court and what happened to Li Gan. See Du Mu, “Li Gan shi,” Chen Yunji ed., Du Mu quanji, 7.
76 The Ganlu shibian 甘露事變 happened in 835. Emperor Wenzong 文宗 (r. 826–840) was unhappy with the excessive power held by the eunuchs. In year 835, Emperor Wenzong’s physician Zheng Zhu 鄭注 (d. 835) and his friend, a newly appointed Han Lin academician Li Xun 李訓 (d. 835) plotted with Emperor Wenzong to assassinate the politically powerful eunuchs Qiu Shiliang 仇士良 (781–843) and Yu Hongzhi 魚弘志. Li tricked the eunuchs into investigating sweet dew that was said to have descended on pomegranate trees in the courtyard of the Jinwu 金吾 palace and planned to ambush them there. However, Qiu found out about the plan and as he fled back to the inner palace, he kidnapped the emperor. Later, the eunuchs sent imperial guards and massacred court officials and their families. Zheng, Li and four Grand Councilors along with thousands of others were killed. After that the eunuchs had total control of the court administration. For more detail, see Liu Xun et al., Jiu Tangshu, 13:169.4395–411.
77 For example, Du Mu, “Ti Xuanzhou Kaiyuan si” 題宣州開元寺, “Dayu xing” 大雨行, “Zi Xuancheng fuguan shangjing lufeng Pei Tan Panguan guiXuan yin tizeng” 自宣城赴官上京路逢裴坦判官歸宣因題贈, “Zheng Xuanzhou Yuan Chushi” 贈宣州元處士, “Ti Xuanzhou Kaiyuan si shuige gexia Wanxi jiaxi juren” 題宣州開元寺水閣閣下宛溪夾溪居人, “Zi Xuancheng fuguan shangjing” 自宣城赴官上京Chen Yunji ed., Du Mu quanji, 12, 12–13, 13, 13, 29, 30.
78 For example, Du Mu, “Wangnian sui gu Wuxing gong yebo Wuhu kou jin fuguan xiqu zai su Wuhu ganjiu shanghuai yin cheng shiliu yun” 往年隨故吳興公夜泊蕪湖口今赴官西去再宿蕪湖感舊傷懷因成十六韻, Chen Yunji ed., Du Mu quanji, 41.
79 For example, Du Mu, “Huai Zhongling jiuyou sishou” 懷鐘陵舊游四首, “Wangnian sui gu Wuxing gong yebo Wuhu kou jin fuguan xiqu zai su Wuhu ganjiu shanghuai yin cheng shiliu yun,” “Ba Zhongling li shisan nian lai po penpu ganjiu weishi” 罢鍾陵吏十三年來泊湓浦感舊為詩, Chen Yunji ed., Du Mu quanji, 41, 41–42, 42.
80 Hanyu da cidian bianji weiyuanhui ed., Hanyu da cidian, 3:5509.
81 Meng Qi quoted “Qianhuai” in the Benshi shi after the Luoyang story. His version of the poem actually has luotuo 落拓 instead of luotuo 落魄 in the first line. Feng Jiwu 馮集梧 (jinshi 1781), the only pre-modern annotator of Du Mu’s poetry, also indicated the variant in his annotation of this poem. Meng Qi et al., Benshi shi Xu benshi shi Benshi ci, 19. Feng Jiwu 馮集梧, Fanchuan shiji zhu 樊川詩集注 (Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 1998), 369.
82 Du Mu, “Zhang Haohao shi” 張好好詩, Chen Yunji ed., Du Mu quanji, 6.