Writers › Writer / Poet

Du Mu

Late Tang poet and grandson of the chancellor Du You, author of the Epang Palace Rhapsody, paired with Li Shangyin as the Lesser Li and Du

Also known as Zi Muzhi · Hao Fan Chuan Ju Shi · Du Ziwei

Du Mu, courtesy name Muzhi, came from Wannian near Chang'an and was a grandson of Du You, chancellor and author of the *Comprehensive Statutes* (*Tongdian*). He passed the jinshi examination in 828 and a special decree examination that year, then served on the staffs of Shen Chuanshi in Jiangxi and Xuanshe and of Niu Sengru at Yangzhou. From the Huichang years he governed Huangzhou, Chizhou and Muzhou and later Huzhou, and at court he rose to Secretariat drafter, hence the name Du Ziwei. He wrote essays on frontier warfare, and his commentary on the *Art of War* (*Sunzi*) was later included in the *Sunzi with Eleven Commentaries*. He died in 852, and his nephew Pei Yanhan collected his work as the *Fanchuan Collection* (*Fanchuan wenji*) in twenty chapters. His early *Epang Palace Rhapsody* (*Epang gong fu*), which used the fall of Qin as a warning to the court, was chosen for the Qing anthology *Guwen guanzhi*.

Life and times

  1. 803 CEBornTang
  2. 852 CEDied

Works

  1. Literature · Poetry13
    1. Red CliffTangDu Mu's quatrain on the Red Cliffs battle, musing on how chance decided the Three Kingdoms
    2. Written at Wujiang PavilionTangDu Mu's quatrain at the spot where Xiang Yu took his life, arguing he might have fought again
    3. Mooring on the Qinhuai RiverTangDu Mu's quatrain moored on the Qinhuai, where singers still sing a fallen court's song
    4. Mountain WalkTangDu Mu's quatrain of an autumn mountain road where frosted maples outshine spring flowers
    5. Qingming FestivalTangQuatrain long credited to Du Mu: travellers in Qingming rain and a village of apricot blossom
    6. +8 more
      1. Autumn NightTangDu Mu's palace woman on an autumn night, chasing fireflies and watching the lovers' stars
      2. The Golden Valley GardenTangDu Mu at the ruins of Shi Chong's Golden Valley Garden, mourning Green Pearl's fatal leap
      3. To Han Chuo, Administrator at YangzhouTangDu Mu's quatrain to a former colleague in Yangzhou, recalling the city's autumn moonlit nights
      4. At PartingTangDu Mu's parting quatrain for a young Yangzhou singer, likened to a cardamom bud in early spring
      5. Spring in JiangnanTangDu Mu's Jiangnan spring quatrain, its temples in misty rain recalling the Southern Dynasties
      6. Easing My HeartTangDu Mu's quatrain looking back on his Yangzhou years, mocking his own easy loves
      7. About to Leave for Wuxing, I Climb the Leyou PlateauTangDu Mu's quatrain before leaving to govern Huzhou, looking toward Emperor Taizong's tomb
      8. Staying at an InnTangDu Mu alone at an inn: dreams of home that last till dawn and letters a year on the road
  2. Literature · Sayings6
    1. Returning in a Cloud of DustTangIdiom from Du Mu's Written at Wujiang Pavilion: staging a comeback after defeat
    2. Hooked Hearts and Clashing HornsTangIdiom from Du Mu's Rhapsody on the Epang Palace: from interlocking eaves to scheming rivalry
    3. The Epang Palace Pitifully Burned to Scorched EarthTangFamous line from Du Mu's Rhapsody on the Epang Palace: Qin's splendor ends in ashes
    4. Broken Halberds Sunk in the SandTangIdiom from Du Mu's poem Red Cliff: a broken halberd in the sand recalling a lost battle
    5. Homes Where the White Clouds RiseTangFamous line from Du Mu's Mountain Walk: cottages where the white clouds rise
    6. +1 more
      1. Frost-Touched Leaves Redder Than Spring FlowersTangFamous line from Du Mu's Mountain Walk: autumn maples brighter than any spring bloom
  3. Literature · Rhapsodies1
    1. Rhapsody on the Epang PalaceTangDu Mu's rhapsody on the Qin palace of Epang, a warning to Tang rulers against extravagance
  4. Treasures · Brushwork1
    1. Du Mu, Poem to Zhang HaohaoTang dynastyThe one poem in Du Mu's own hand

Family tree

  1. Direct kin
    Du Mu
    Grandfather
    Du You