Biography of Du Fu

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Du fu was a prominent Chinese poet of the tang dynasty. Poet Du Fu completed a traditional Confucian education, but failed twice the imperial examinations required for getting a civil service job. Instead, he traveled the country, often without any money, composing poetry that after his death became regarded as some of the best of his time. Along with Li Bai , he is frequently called the greatest of the Chinese poets. His greatest ambition was to serve his country as a successful civil servant, but he proved unable to make the necessary accommodations. His life, like the whole country, was devastated by the An Lushan Rebellion of 755, and his last 15 years were a time of almost constant unrest. Although initially he was little-known to other writers, his work came to be hugely influential in both Chinese and Japanese literary culture. Of his poetic writing, nearly fifteen hundred poems have been preserved over the ages. He has been called the "Poet-Historian" and the "Poet-Sage" by Chinese critics. Most of what is known of Du Fu's life comes from his poems. His paternal grandfather was Du Shenyan, a noted politician and poet during the reign of Empress Wu. Du Fu was born in 712; the exact birthplace is unknown, except that it was near Luoyang, Henan province. In later life, he considered himself to belong to the capital city of Chang'an, ancestral hometown of the Du family. Du Fu's mother died shortly after he was born, and he was partially raised by his aunt. He had an elder brother, who died young. He also had three half brothers and one half sister, to who he frequently refers in his poems, although he never mentions his stepmother. His father died around 740. Du Fu would have been allowed to enter the civil service because of his father's rank, but he is thought to have given up the privilege in favor of one of his half brothers. He spent the next four years

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