11/23/2006 ~ Du Fu Cottage

On the Rio: Bob Dylan ~ Silvio

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

One of my co-workers came in to say happy holiday to me, and asked if I was doing anything special, like cooking my favorite foods. I said no, a turkey was too big for me to cook for myself, and I don't have all the cooking utensils to make a pie. She suggested I just buy a bottle of Wild Turkey whiskey and pretend. My team-mates are getting to know me a little to well I'd say.

After the pandas we drove to Du Fu Cottage.

Du Fu was a Confusicanist poet of the Tang dynasty and is widely considered to be China's greatest poet. My guide said his poems are memorized in school and he even recited a short one for me. Du Fu lived from 712 - 770.

He is revered for his lyrical rendering of a lifetime of great suffering. He tried to put into words the political situation of the time, showing empathy for the poor, downtrodden and exploited. He wrote over 200 poems at this location. Here is a statue of him along side a carving of a poem.

He was not rich man himself, and built the thatched roof cottage. This is a replica of course.

There is also an archeological site dig here, exhibiting numerous potteries and other artifacts from the era.

The Chinese design such wonderfully tranquil parks.

But it's also important to look at the smaller details else they pass you by.