Masterpieces about suffering in face of injustice composed here

Lotus flowers in full blossom at the museum.

LOTUS flowers are in blossom in the Du Fu Thatched Cottage in Chengdu, capital of Southwest China's Sichuan Province.

The flowers - in dozens of varieties and multiple colours - will last until September, decorating the 1,242-year-old cottage filled with lush, green trees and grass, and bringing joy to both locals and tourists suffering from the scorching summer heat.

Located on the bank of a brook in western Chengdu, the Du Fu Thatched Cottage is not a cottage in the literal sense. It is a commemorative museum including a traditional Chinese garden built at the site where Tang Dynasty poet Du Fu (712-770 AD) constructed a thatched cottage in 760 AD.

Du Fu has enjoyed lasting fame. His poems are included in school textbooks, and any foreign student majoring in Chinese literature has to be acquainted with his works.

The cottage, rebuilt in 1997 in line with the description in the poems, reminds visitors of Du's simple life and lofty ideals.	The grounds are filled with lush vegetation.

Du lived during a period marking the beginning of the decline of the mighty Tang Dynasty (618-906 AD) because of corruption and the war fought by two rebel generals from 755 to 763 AD.

A native of Gongxian County in Central China's Henan Province, Du reached Chengdu in 759 AD to take refuge from the war.

In the following spring, Du built a cottage by the Flower Bathing Brook with the financial support of a friend. There he lived for nearly four years, writing many of his masterpieces.

This statue by Qian Shaowu reflects the poet's suffering and care for his country's fate.

Du's poems are known for sympathetic portrayals of human suffering and bitterness in the face of injustice and corruption.

Two of his most famous lines run: "Meat and wine go bad in lordly mansions while the roads are strewn with the bones of those killed by the cold."

In 761 AD, the roof of Du's cottage was destroyed in a rainstorm.

That led him to think of the difficulties of other poor scholars.

Rather than wallowing in self-pity, he composed a poem desiring that all the poor find shelter, and saying if this could be achieved, he would gladly die content in his leaky cottage.

Du's cottage was destroyed in the late Tang Dynasty. In 902 AD, a poet named Wei Zhuang found the ruins and built a new cottage at the site. Since then, it has undergone more than 10 renovations.

Today, the Du Fu Thatched Cottage covers an area of about 16 hectares. It consists of a thatched cottage built several years ago in line with historical documents and the description of Du's poems, as well as several halls and one shrine housing Du's statues and examples of the poet's work.

Because of Du's important position in the history of Chinese literature, visiting the Du Fu Thatched Cottage is a must for most first-time visitors to Chengdu, a city with a history of more than 2,300 years.

Strolling through the museum grounds, visitors enjoy the aura of ancient culture, the tranquility, and the elegant layout.

For visitors without a particular interest in Chinese literary tradition, the museum grounds with leafy bamboo and luxuriant vegetation provide a place to rejuvenate after enduring the intensities of the urban jungle in summer.

For 5 yuan ($0.6), a visitor can get a cup of Sichuan tea and sit among bamboo and trees for as long as a whole day. When he or she is hungry, the visitor can spend less than 100 yuan ($12) to savour all kinds of typical, spicy Sichuan food at a restaurant in the museum.

Travel tips

Du Fu Thatched Cottage:

The flight from Shanghai to Chengdu takes about two hours. A taxi to the Du Fu Thatched Cottage from downtown Chengdu costs about 10 yuan ($1.2). For more information, contact the museum at (028) 731-9258 or 733-6130.

Sanxingdui Museum:

The flight from Shanghai to Chengdu takes about two hours. In the Gaosuntang Long Distance Bus Station (Tel: 028-338-2584), which is adjacent to the Chengdu Railway Station North, a traveller pays 10 yuan ($1.2) for the 20-minute ride on an air-conditioned bus to Guanghan. Local buses there take visitors to the Sanxingdui Museum about 10 kilometres from downtown.