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Tu Fu (712–770) wrote this poem in 737 after failing the civil service exam and going to visit his father, who was serving as military commander of Yenchou, or East District, where the Yellow River floodplain meets the Shantung peninsula. Looking out from the city’s South Tower, Tu Fu is reminded of the inexorable nature of time. Taishan, resting place of spirits, was to the northeast, and the Pohai Sea, home of immortal isles, lay beyond. The rich farmland of Hsuchou and Chingchou was to the east, but it had been impoverished by an imperial tour in 725. Similar results followed a visit in 219 B.C. by the Ch’in dynasty’s First Emperor, who left a record of his visit on a stele outside nearby Chufu. Chufu was the capital of the ancient state of Lu and the site of Lingkuang Palace, built in the Han dynasty by Lu Kung. Tu Fu’s father was in ill health and died the following year.

Climbing Yenchou Tower

TU FU

Visiting my father in East District

I finally looked out from South Tower

clouds stretched beyond Taishan to the sea

barren land spread through Hsu and Chingchou

the outline of the stele of Ch’in was still there

the walls of Lu Palace were rubble

I’ve always been drawn to the past

but this time my heart trembled