Du Fu

Here is a revised memorial biography of Du Fu, based solely on facts supported by reliable sources and preserving the verified dates and details you provided. Uncertain or disputed information has been noted or omitted.

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Du Fu (712–770) was a Chinese poet of the Tang dynasty, widely regarded as one of the greatest figures in Chinese literary history. His family had scholarly roots, with his grandfather Du Shenyan serving as a noted official and poet. Du Fu was born near Luoyang in Henan province, with Gong‑County (modern-day Gongyi) often cited as the probable birthplace (en.wikipedia.org).

By the age of twenty‑four, Du Fu had failed the jinshi civil service examination and lived in Chang’an (the capital) for several years, striving for official appointment (ebsco.com). He formed a close friendship with the legendary poet Li Bai during this time (terrascripta.com).

Du Fu’s life was profoundly disrupted by the An Lushan Rebellion, which began in 755. In its aftermath, he held a brief position at court but soon became a displaced refugee, gaining the moniker "poet‑historian" for his vivid depiction of warfare, displacement, and suffering in his poetry (terrascripta.com). Around 759, he fled south with his family to Sichuan, eventually settling in Chengdu, where he lived in a thatched cottage and composed many of his significant works (terrascripta.com).

In the spring of 765, Du Fu and his family began a long southward journey down the Yangtze River. From late 766 to 768, he spent nearly two years in Kuizhou (modern-day Baidicheng, Chongqing), a period often described as his final great poetic flowering, during which he wrote approximately 400 poems (en.wikipedia.org). He resumed his travels in March 768, eventually reaching Hunan.

Du Fu died in late 770—most sources place his death in November or December—on a boat in the vicinity of Tanzhou (modern Changsha, Hunan), likely from illness during his travels (en.wikipedia.org).

Today, Du Fu is revered as a moral and technical master of poetry: later generations honored him with titles such as “Poet‑Historian” and “Sage of Poetry.” Nearly 1,500 poems attributed to him survive, representing rich records of the human and political struggles of the Tang dynasty, and his influence extends through Chinese and Japanese literary traditions (terrascripta.com).

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