Chinese poem du fu biography

Du Fu (杜甫,712-770) was a famoius Realist poet who lived during the Tang Dynasty Era (618-907). That era is generally thought to be the era of the best ancient poetry. The poems were simple and about common topics people experience and can relate to.

He is thought of as one of the greatest realist poets of China.

Chinese poem du fu biography

His poems reflect the hard realities of war, people dying next to rich rulers, and primitive rural life. It is thought that he lived in a simple hut near the end of his life where he wrote many of his best realist poems.

He served as an official in the Tang Dynasty's court and then lived in Chengdu in a thatched hut, and he wrote more than a thousand poems that are still appreciated by modern Chinese people.

Dufu liked to write in a structured form of poetry that was called Lu Shi (律詩) or regulated poetry.

The style has balancing couplets. He also liked to write about realistic things. His style of poetry is called Realist. Here is a famous couplet as an example: