Du Fu

Du Fu was a realist poet of the Tang dynasty, styled Zimei and self-named Shaoling Yelao. His ancestral home was Xiangyang, and he was born in Gongxian, Henan. He served as Left Remonstrator and as an adjunct员外郎 of the Ministry of Works, and is known to later generations as Du Shiyi and Du Gongbu. During the An Lushan Rebellion he was displaced and wandered from place to place, later settling in the Thatched Cottage in Chengdu. About 1,500 of his poems survive, most collected in The Complete Works of Du Gongbu. He is revered as the "Sage of Poetry," his verse is called "poetry as history," and he is ranked alongside Li Bai as "Li and Du." His writing confronts social reality and personal hardship, covering war and displacement, the sufferings of the people, landscapes, and everyday reflections; his style is deep and forceful, his language precise and varied, and his influence on later poetry is profound. This site holds 31 of his works, including complete collections such as The Complete Works of Du Fu and The Collected Poems of Du Fu, as well as individual pieces such as "Again Showing Zongwu," "Visiting the Temple of the First Lord," "Song of the Year's End," and "The Ninth Day." His works are commonly classified under ancient poetry, Eastern philosophy, and culture.