Li Bai was fond of wine and called himself the "Immortal of Wine." Du Fu's love for wine was no less intense, earning him the title "Sage of Wine." According to statistics by Mr. Guo Moruo, among Du Fu's existing collection of over 1,400 poems, more than 300 mention wine.
As early as the age of fourteen or fifteen, Du Fu was already a great drinker, a fact amply demonstrated in his poem "Zhuang You" (Travels in Youth): "In the past, at fourteen or fifteen, I roamed the literary circles... My nature bold, my passion for wine strong; With righteous heart I hate evil... Drunk, I survey the eight directions, seeing vulgar men as mere mist."
The first two lines mean that at fourteen or fifteen, he was already mingling with scholars and officials. The middle two lines describe his bold and generous personality, his love of wine, and his upright character, hating evil with a fierce determination. The last two lines mean that when drunk, he looked down upon the world around him, seeing only mediocrity everywhere. Doesn't this fully illustrate that Du Fu was already a great drinker in his youth?
In his prime, Du Fu met Li Bai and Gao Shi, traveling together through Liang, Song, Qi, and Lu, drinking and composing poetry, hunting and visiting ancient sites, their temperaments perfectly matched. Du Fu and Li Bai shared an especially deep bond; they would get drunk together, share the same blanket, and stroll hand-in-hand, even closer than ordinary brothers. As the saying goes: "I too am a guest from Dongmeng, cherishing you like a brother. Drunk, we sleep in autumn under the same quilt; hand in hand, we walk together through the day."
In the sixth year of the Tianbao era (747 AD), Du Fu went to Chang'an to take the imperial examinations. However, due to interference by the powerful minister Li Linfu, he failed to be selected. At this time, he met a drinking companion, Zheng Qian, a doctorate scholar at the Guangwen Academy. Zheng Qian was a man of many talents, knowledgeable in poetry, painting, calligraphy, music, astronomy, medicine, and military strategy. Like Du Fu, he lived in hardship, often borrowing money from friends to buy wine. The single character for "wine" forged a close friendship between them. In his poem "Song of Drunkenness," Du Fu recalls their drinking days: "When we get money, we immediately seek each other out; buying wine, we never hesitate. We forget all formalities, calling each other 'you' and 'I'; your capacity for drinking is truly my master." He also says: "No need to hear such sorrowful tales; as long as we meet in life, let us raise our cups." This means that whenever one of them earned money, they would buy wine and drink together without delay. They were so close, discarding all pretense, and the other's drinking capacity was truly his teacher. Forget the sorrows of the ancients; as long as we are alive, we should drink and be merry.
Du Fu's habit of loving wine remained unchanged from his youth through old age, even to his final moments.
According to historical records, Du Fu died from eating beef and drinking white wine. In the summer of the fifth year of the Dali era (770 AD), Du Fu fled to Hengzhou to escape warfare. On the way, he reached Leiyang and encountered a great flood, forcing his boat to dock at Fangtian Post. With no food available, he starved for about ten days. A county magistrate named Nie, upon hearing this, sent him beef and white wine. Du Fu overate, and died that very night. According to Mr. Guo Moruo's research, the beef sent by Magistrate Nie must have been plentiful, and Du Fu could not finish it all at once. It was summer, and without proper refrigeration, the meat easily spoiled. Spoiled meat is toxic, and it is entirely possible that Du Fu died from food poisoning.