Written in the winter of 755, when
杜甫 left Chang'an to see his family in Fengxian, today's Pucheng in Shaanxi. On the way he passed Mount Li, where the emperor was feasting at the hot springs, and the poem sets that luxury against the hunger of the poor. When he reached home he found that his youngest son had starved to death. The An Lushan rebellion broke out that same month.
