Du Fu was the greatest realist poet from the Tang Dynasty. He was hailed as the Sage of Poetry after his death. His poems are vast and profound in meaning, with strong and sincere emotions. He inherited the richness and goodness of ancient poetry and further developed the content and style of poetry, expanding its scope.
Background
Traditionally, Chinese literary criticism has placed great emphasis on knowledge of the life of the author when interpreting a work, a practice which Watson attributes to "the close links that traditional Chinese thought posits between art and morality". Since many of Du Fu's poems prominently feature morality and history, this practice is particularly important. Another reason, identified by the Chinese historian William Hung, is that Chinese poems are typically extremely concise, omitting circumstantial factors that might be relevant, but which could be reconstructed by an informed contemporary. For modern Western readers, "The less accurately we know the time, the place and the circumstances in the background, the more liable we are to imagine it incorrectly, and the result will be that we either misunderstand the poem or fail to understand it altogether". Owen suggests a third factor particular to Du Fu, arguing that the variety of the poet's work required consideration of his whole life, rather than the "reductive" categorisations used for more limited poets.
Career
Du Fu was born an intelligent boy. In his poem "A Splendid Tour", he wrote that he "had great ambitions and talents at the age of seven, and narrated the 'Song of the Phoenix'. When he was nine, he was a skilled calligrapher." He displayed remarkable literary ability and talent as a teenager, and was greatly praised by adults.
When Du Fu turned 20, like Li Bai, he began touring the country. He left Luoyang and travelled along the canal beyond the Yangtze River. The magnificent scenery and abundant historical sights that he saw in his journey greatly expanded his views. After he returned to Luoyang, he left home again to visit the great plains in Qizhao (today's Shandong, and the southern parts of Hebei) and Mount Tai. These two journeys were the most wistful things he did in his life.
One summer, Du Fu finally met the other famous poet, Li Bai, whom he had always admired. The two of them shared the same interests and became good friends quickly. Li Bai had left Chang'an as he had been ostracised by the aristocrats there. However, he was already very famous as the "banished immortal". Du Fu, on the other hand, was just beginning to make a name for himself as an aspiring poet. Their age difference, nonetheless, did not stop them from building a profound friendship with each other.
When the Anshi Rebellion broke out and Chang'an was taken over by the rebels, Du Fu and his family led a poor itinerant life. In the second year of Zhide (AD 757), Du Fu fled Chang'an to join the Tang army. Emperor Suzong was moved by his determination and made him an advisory official, only to demote him later to a military officer in Huazhou.
In the winter of AD 759, Du Fu moved to Shu to get his family out of the confusion and hardship caused by the Anshi Rebellion. With the help of his relatives, he built the famous Chengdu thatched cottage where he lived for almost four years.
More than 240 poems composed by Du Fu have been preserved till today, including "The Three Officers" (namely "The Xin'an Officer", "The Tongguan Officer", and "The Shihao Officer") and "The Three Departures" ("The Departure of the Newlywed"), "The Departure of the Old Couple", and "The Departure of the Homeless". These six poems truly reflect the turbulence of society and are enduring masterpieces in the history of Chinese literature.