Du Fu, known as the "Saint of Poetry", was one of the famous poets of the Tang Dynasty. His poetry widely reflected the political, economic, cultural and other aspects of the society at that time, and expressed his deep concern and anxiety for the country and the people. However, although Du Fu has been worried about the country and the people all his life, he did not choose to become an official. The reasons for this can be analyzed from the following aspects.
First of all, Du Fu's family background was not wealthy, which made it impossible for him to pass the imperial examination to enter the officialdom. In the Tang Dynasty, the imperial examination system was the main way to select the best people, and only by passing the imperial examination and achieving certain results could one obtain an official position. However, the imperial examination requires a lot of financial support, including the purchase of books, the payment of tuition, and the participation in various training courses. For a family like Du Fu, these costs are unaffordable. Therefore, he could only improve his cultural level through self-study, and could not enter the officialdom through the imperial examination.
Secondly, Du Fu's personality also determines that he is not suitable for politics and officials. Du Fu is a straightforward and honest person, and he likes to express his opinions and opinions bluntly. However, this kind of character trait is often easy to offend people in officialdom, and even attracts political suppression and **. In addition, Du Fu also has a strong sense of justice and responsibility, and he is very concerned about social injustice and people's suffering, which is often expressed in the form of poetry. This kind of attention and expression often arouses the dissatisfaction and resentment of those in power, making it difficult for him to gain a foothold in officialdom.
Third, Du Fu was deeply disappointed and hopeless about the corruption and darkness of officialdom. In his poems, we can see his exposure and criticism of officialdom. He revealed the problems of ** corruption, power struggles, hypocrisy and other problems in the officialdom, and expressed his strong dissatisfaction and indignation at this phenomenon. However, he also realizes that these problems cannot be changed, because officialdom itself is a corrupt and dark place. He once wrote: "The court is like a market, and there are many thieves in clothes." This phrase vividly depicts the corruption and darkness of officialdom. Therefore, he chose to stay away from officialdom and express his concern and thinking about social reality in the form of poetry.
Fourth, Du Fu has a unique understanding of his own life pursuits. He believed that the meaning of life lies not in the pursuit of power and status, but in the pursuit of truth and beauty. He once said: "The article is eternal, and the gains and losses are known." This sentence expresses his emphasis and pursuit of literary creation. He believes that literary creation is a noble undertaking that can be passed down through the ages and influence future generations. Therefore, he devoted his energy and talent to literary creation, rather than pursuing power and status.
In the end, Du Fu felt deeply helpless and powerless about the social reality and political environment at that time. He lived in a turbulent time, the rule of the Tang Dynasty had declined, and social contradictions were becoming increasingly acute. He saw the pain and suffering of the people caused by various disasters such as peasant uprisings, wars, famines, etc., as well as the incompetence and corruption of the rulers. However, as an ordinary person, he could not change the reality and political environment of this society. He once wrote: "There are thousands of mansions in Ande, and the poor people in the world are happy." This sentence expresses his helplessness and powerlessness in society. Therefore, he chose to express his concern and thinking about social reality in the form of poetry, rather than going into politics and becoming an official.
To sum up, Du Fu has been worried about the country and the people all his life, but he did not choose to become an official. This is mainly due to his family background, personality traits, disappointment and despair in officialdom, understanding of life pursuits, and helplessness and powerlessness in the social reality and political environment at that time. However, it is precisely because he did not become an official in politics that he was able to focus more on literary creation, created many excellent poetry works, and became a generation of poets. His poetry not only reflected the practical problems of the society at that time, but also expressed his deep concern and anxiety for the country and the people, which have far-reaching historical significance and cultural value.