Dufu's Cottage

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Our first day trip out in Chengdu was to 'Dufu's thatched Cottage'.

Some history:

(Dufu was a famous Chinese poet (AD 712-70), and the thatched cottage is a place where he is meant to have written some of his most famous poems. At the age of 47 Dufu composed more than 240 poems reflecting upon the misery of the people at the site of the thatched cottage. Although the original residence disappeared long ago it has been renovated several times during several dynasties and in modern times.)

The place is now a popular place for tourists both Chinese and foreign. It is mentioned in most guide books and on the map so we decided to check it out. The grounds are quite big and we managed to spend most of the afternoon there, we still didn't see everything there was to see. We managed to pick a day that was raining which was typical but it was still a nice afternoon. The grounds were lovely and there were lots of older people playing Mahjong and drinking tea in different area's of the complex. We walked through the area at a pretty slow pace and looked inside the various pagoda's and buildings. Lot's of Dufu's poem were on sale in the gift shop and lot's of old volume's were displayed in another building. Although we didn't learn much about Dufu while we were there (we didn't have a guide) if you like poetry you should definetly go with one to find out more. There was a pretty new Muesum at the back of the complex with various artifacts from the period of Dufu's life. There was also lot's of unearthed artifacts at the sight they believe to be the original thatched cottage.

There was a tea house to go to but we gave it a miss. However we found a vendor selling lovely pieces of his own artwork. They were so beautiful and so cheap we couldn't refuse. We both got one of Chinese blossoms. No two were the same so it felt specially buying a piece you know noone else would have. I will go back to buy more (if he is still there) before I go back to the Scotland.

Since I am writing this from memory it is a pretty bad blog as my memory is terrible. For this I apologise. I thought I should add it as I have some nice pictures and for those of you visiting Chengdu I would say it is worth a visit.

For travelers:

Cost: 60-90 rmb (sorry can't remember) if you have a youth card you should get half price
Where: On the West of Chengdu, I got a taxi so not sure about the buses

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Photos

Dufu's in the rain
Even in the rain it was a nice day out.

Tower
How pretty x

Bell
Ding Dong....if this worked it would make a great noise.

For those at home x
One with me in it to prove I was actually there.

Comments

[Essen]

by a Chengdu native
Dufu was the greatest realistic poet in ancient China. Throughout his life, he composed a lot of poems, of which about 14oo poems are extant. His poetry truely and insightfully refects the scocial realities of his time. Dufu lived in a period in which the Tang Dynasty was going to decline from its prosperity. He experienced a rebellion the common people suffered a lot. In his poems, Dufu expressed his dissatisfaction with the government and great pity for the poor people. So he is honored as poetry-historian or sage of poetry in China. Du Fu plays an important role in Chinese literature history as Shakespeare in western literature history. Generation after generation of poets and critics rediscovered themselves and their interests in some aspects of the poet. Dufu lived in the same period with Li Po, he was 12 years yonger than Li Po.

[anonymous]

Dufu had lived in Cheng Du for almost four years. During the period, he wrote a little more than 240 poems that accout for 1/6 of his extant poems.