According to one of his translators, David Hinton, “[Du Fu] explored the full range of experience, and from this abundance shaped the monumental proportions of being merely human.”
712–770 CE
Also known as Tu Fu, Du Fu is considered with Li Po to be one of China’s greatest poets of the Tang dynasty. Du Fu was born to a minor scholar-official in Henan Province. His mother died while he was young, and an aunt helped raised him. Though he studied for the civil service exam to become a civil servant like his father, Du Fu failed to pass and spent many years traveling. His early poems thread together incidents from his travels and personal accounts of the hardships he endured; he also wrote poems to or about Li Po.
chang'an, china
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2020 | Present
