Story of China

In all the 3000 years of Chinese poetry, the world's oldest living poetic tradition, it's Du Fu, the poet of this terrible time, who is their most loved, because he spoke in the people's voice. He's still part of the school syllabus today, so every Chinese child knows how the Tang fell. Hi, hello. Not from their history class, but from poetry. -

Student

Nice to meet you too. Oh very good, you speak English, wonderful, wonderful. And here at the secondary school in Yanshi outside Luoyang, they've an extra reason to know all about it. This is the tomb here? -

Student

Yes. -

Michael

Because Du Fu's grave is in the school grounds. He wasn't famous when he died. The inscription says, (student speaking foreign language) "The tomb of Mr. Du Government Deputy Irrigation Inspector." Terrific, xie xie, wonderful, wonderful. As the Tang world collapsed, one last brief poem by Du Fu tells how fleeing south of the river, he met again a famous musician once high in the emperor's favor. "It was the time of falling flowers," the poet said. A poetic way of describing a disaster that was never to be forgotten. The falling flowers in Chinese poetry, can you explain to me what this means, anybody? I think it means, the flowers are falling down, and the period of the season is gone. And also means the Tang dynasty is gone. Yeah. - And he feels very sad. So falling flowers is not just blossom falling, it's a feeling of melancholy in the heart. And the Tang dynasty is falling, there is a mood of autumn and sadness. And he meets the man who was once this great figure. Such a simple poem isn't it, just four lines, and yet it's full of fantastic ideas. Thank you for being patient. (speaking foreign language) (students applauding) So the state was broken, but the land survived, and so did the people.