LRJ 5 -- Tu Fu Poetry Comparisons

The two poems “Jade Flower Palace” and “Night Thoughts Afloat” by Tu Fu are both striking, not easily forgotten fragments of an ancient Chinese civilization. “Jade Flower Palace” has a haunting, chilling mood that transports the reader back into the very image it provokes. “Night Thoughts Afloat” is more calm and gentle, like the waves lapping against the side of a boat. Their tones are similar -- both are lonely, while “Jade Flower Palace” echoes with reminiscent memories, and “Night Thoughts Afloat” seems more hopeless and sad.
The settings in both poems have natural aspects to them. “Jade Flower Palace” flies us to the ruins of an old castle, taken over by nature. It is rustic and overgrown, and the descriptions send shivers down one’s back. Vivid pictures appear when Tu Fu describes how the “wind moans in the pines” (2), how there are “green ghost fires in the black rooms,” (6) and how “their painted cheeks have crumbled/ away” (13-14). “Night Thoughts Afloat,” on the other hand, is in the quiet peace of a river at night, undisturbed by human interference. Gentle scenes from nature both soothe the mind and sadden it, like “bent grasses/ in a gentle wind” (1-2) and “the moon’s afloat/ in this Great River” (6-7). Both poems use many images from nature, as well as lush descriptions and bright colors to convey the emotion of the poet.
“Jade Flower Palace” has more concrete detail contained in it than “Night Thoughts Afloat,” but both poems are in such a dreamlike trance it is hard to pin anything down. In the former, the images of “ruins beside the cliffs” (5) and “only/ a stone horse is left” (14) are stark and realistic, showing how Tu Fu is mourning the loss of perhaps not just the palace. In the latter, “stars hang/ above the broad plain” (5-6) is such a realistic image one can almost believe they are under the exact night sky being described. The phrase also carries a slightly lonely edge, because the stars seem quiet, alone in the heavens, waiting for something that never seems to appear.