Du Fu
Du Fu (杜甫; 712-770), also romanized as Tu Fu, was a Chinese poet of the Tang dynasty. His poems combine personal experience with the upheavals of his time, including war, displacement and famine. He was a friend of Li Bai, to whom he addressed poems.[1]
Life and poetry
Born in Henan to a scholar-official's family, Du Fu pursued an official career but failed the civil service examination. He travelled extensively, and the An Lushan Rebellion, beginning in 755, disrupted his life and prospects. He later lived in Sichuan and spent two productive years at Kuizhou before resuming his travels.[1]
Often described as a poet-historian, Du Fu wrote about public events through their effects on individual lives. His subjects also include family relationships and periods of domestic contentment.[1]
Spring view
The opening of "Spring view" (春望) places the persistence of the landscape beside the devastation of the state:[2]
國破山河在，城春草木深。
The state is broken, yet mountains and rivers remain;
spring comes to the city, and grass and trees grow deep.
The following lines turn to separation, warfare and the value of letters from home.[2]