Reconsidering Tu Fu

This work studies one of China's greatest poets, Tu Fu, as both cultural icon and literary genius.

Tu Fu is, by universal consent, is the greatest poet of the Chinese tradition and the epitome of the Chinese moral conscience at its highest. Eva Shan Chou investigates the evolution of his stature as an icon, and provides translations of many poems, both well known and obscure.Tu Fu is, by universal consent, the greatest poet of the Chinese tradition. In the epochal An Lu-shan rebellion, he alone of his contemporaries consistently recorded in poetry the great events and pervasive sufferings of the time. For a millennium, Tu Fu's poetry has been accepted as epitomizing the Chinese moral conscience at its highest, and as such his work has been placed almost beyond the reach of criticism. In Reconsidering Tu Fu, Eva Shan Chou defuses these formidable problems by examining Tu Fu as both a cultural monument and a poet. She investigates the evolution of his stature as an icon and shows its continuing effect upon interpretations of Tu Fu's work. Dr Chou provides translations of many poems, both well known and obscure. Her analyses are both original in their formulation and considerate of the many fine readings of traditional commentators.