Du Fu

Master poet of the Tang Dynasty, known as the 'Poet-Historian' for his profound record of Chinese life.

Chronology: 712 – 770

Origins & Early Life

Du Fu (Chinese: 杜甫; pinyin: Dù Fǔ; Wade–Giles: Tu Fu; 712 – 770) was a Chinese poet and government official of the Tang dynasty. Together with his older contemporary and friend Li Bai, he is one of the principal poets associated with Tang poetry. Nearly 1,500 poems attributed to him survive. Du Fu pursued an official career and briefly served as a remonstrance official at the imperial court.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

The An Lushan rebellion, which began in 755, displaced him and his family and shaped much of his later writing. He subsequently lived in Qinzhou and Chengdu before traveling through the middle Yangtze region. Du Fu died in 770; accounts differ on the place and cause of his death. Later Chinese critics called him the "Poet-Historian" and the "Poet-Sage". His poetry records war, displacement, official life, family experience, and everyday observation, and it became influential in both Chinese and Japanese literary traditions.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

== Life == Traditional Chinese literary criticism emphasised the life of the author when interpreting a work, a practice which the American scholar Burton Watson attributed to "the close links that traditional Chinese thought posits between art and morality". Since many of Du...

Source: Wikipedia