During his late reigning period, Emperor Xuanzong from Tang Dynasty indulged himself in having fun with Consort Yang Yuhuan and put aside his duty of ruling the country.
　　One day, Emperor Xuanzong gave the order of holding an imperial exam to select the best talents to serve the country.
　　Du Fu, a famous poet at that time, happened to be in Chang’an (today’s Xi’an, Shaanxi), felt very glad upon hearing this. However, when he and other candidates finished the exam, they were told by Li Linfu, a wicked minister serving the emperor and the chief supervisor of this exam, that none of them was chosen. Then, Li Linfu went back to the court and reported to Emperor Xuanzong: “The best talents in the country had been recruited and no one was missed.” Emperor Xuanzong was very glad when he heard that. He did not make thorough investigations about it and heavily awarded Li Linfu.
　　Du Fu did not expect that. Feeling very de- pressed, he had to live a life as the “guest” in order to maintain his very survival. He worked for the nobles and ministers. He lived in these men’s houses and ate the food they gave him. However, he had to write poems to praise their virtue and merits even though these were out of his will. He often appeared in the House of Lord of Nuyang, the House of Prime Minister and other places. When the nobles held banquets, he was asked to write a poem to add more fun to the feast. When they traveled outside, he also needed to compose a poem for the fun. He lived this life for nine years.
　　Du Fu wrote a poem to describe this life. The poem meant: “Every morning I knock on nobles’doors; every night I came back after nobles’ horses. Though I am exhausted, all I get is remaining porridge and cool roast, which contain my grief and hardship.”
　　Later the An-Shi rebellion broke out, forcing Du Fu to live a harder life as a refugee.