Literature & Ideas
Landmark
Du Fu
712 – 770
The Tang poet called the poet-sage, chronicler of war and hardship
Landmark is level 2 of 4 in the China Hall of Fame: a first that opened a door, or the pre-eminent figure of their generation in this country. See how the levels work.
Why they are here
Li Bai's friend and the other great poet of the Tang dynasty, whose poems recorded the suffering of ordinary people through the An Lushan rebellion.
Du Fu sought an official career with little success and lived through the An Lushan rebellion, which devastated Tang China in the 750s and 760s. His poetry turned the events of his time, and the poverty and displacement of ordinary people, into verse of great technical mastery.
Little recognised in his lifetime, he came to be revered as the poet-sage and is often ranked with Li Bai at the summit of Chinese poetry.
Little recognised in his lifetime, he came to be revered as the poet-sage and is often ranked with Li Bai at the summit of Chinese poetry.
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