What do you think?
Rate this book
A Little Primer of Tu Fu
Book in very good condition. No bends or folds in pages.
Paperback
First published November 1, 1988
13 people are currently reading
156 people want to read
About the author
Du Fu
111 books59 followersDu Fu (Chinese: 杜甫, 712–770) was one of China's greatest poets and a central figure in the literary tradition of the Tang dynasty, often hailed as the "Poet Sage" (詩聖) for his moral integrity and the depth of his work. His poetry, numbering over 1,400 surviving pieces, captures the essence of his turbulent era, blending historical insight, personal struggle, and a deep concern for humanity.
Born into a scholarly family, Du Fu was well-educated in the Confucian classics and aspired to a government career. However, his attempts to gain a stable official position were largely unsuccessful. He experienced firsthand the chaos of the An Lushan Rebellion (755–763), which devastated the Tang empire, displacing millions and leading to widespread suffering. These events profoundly shaped his poetry, turning his work into a powerful chronicle of war, political corruption, and the hardships faced by common people.
Unlike his contemporary Li Bai, whose poetry often embraced spontaneity and romanticism, Du Fu’s verse is marked by realism, technical precision, and a strong sense of moral duty. His ability to fuse personal emotion with historical narrative made his work deeply moving and enduring. Themes of exile, poverty, and loyalty pervade his later poetry, as he spent much of his life wandering in hardship, struggling with illness and poverty.
Though largely unrecognized in his lifetime, Du Fu's influence grew over the centuries. Later generations admired his ability to elevate poetry into a form of social commentary, and he became a defining figure in classical Chinese literature. Today, his works continue to be studied and celebrated, both in China and worldwide, for their timeless wisdom, humanistic perspective, and artistic brilliance.
Born into a scholarly family, Du Fu was well-educated in the Confucian classics and aspired to a government career. However, his attempts to gain a stable official position were largely unsuccessful. He experienced firsthand the chaos of the An Lushan Rebellion (755–763), which devastated the Tang empire, displacing millions and leading to widespread suffering. These events profoundly shaped his poetry, turning his work into a powerful chronicle of war, political corruption, and the hardships faced by common people.
Unlike his contemporary Li Bai, whose poetry often embraced spontaneity and romanticism, Du Fu’s verse is marked by realism, technical precision, and a strong sense of moral duty. His ability to fuse personal emotion with historical narrative made his work deeply moving and enduring. Themes of exile, poverty, and loyalty pervade his later poetry, as he spent much of his life wandering in hardship, struggling with illness and poverty.
Though largely unrecognized in his lifetime, Du Fu's influence grew over the centuries. Later generations admired his ability to elevate poetry into a form of social commentary, and he became a defining figure in classical Chinese literature. Today, his works continue to be studied and celebrated, both in China and worldwide, for their timeless wisdom, humanistic perspective, and artistic brilliance.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 7, 2014
I enjoyed this greatly, and wish it had all two hundred of the poems, or that other people had done such books, because it is such a satisfying way to read poetry in translation, all the pieces there for the reader to put together. Hawkes' prose translations are, to my mind, awful, but I do not mind them because with all the rest I feel like I can see a little of what the original poem was.
May 20, 2020
In this brilliantly-executed book, David Hawkes examines thirty-five poems by Tu Fu (also known as Du Fu), an eighth-century Chinese poet. For each poem, Hawkes provides the original Chinese, a transliteration, a general discussion, a line-by-line examination that includes a word-by-word translation, and lastly a prose rendering of the whole poem. I found it wonderful. As a non-Chinese reader, this is the closest I've approached to understanding the original version of classic Chinese poetry. It's painstaking but illuminating. I recommend it very highly indeed.
I note that the final prose translations of the poems are rather flat. The examination leading up to each prose rendition, however, conveys both meaning and impact. I also note that the book often made me melancholy. The upheavals of war and shifting political power were not kind to Tu Fu. A sense of loss pervades the collection, as in the fourth poem where he thinks about his far-distant wife and children, or the tenth poem where briefly meets an old friend for a single night, or the thirty-first poem where he thinks about a dead dancer whom he saw as a small boy.
Two additional remarks. Firstly, I was interested to learn that Tu Fu was a huge admirer of Kongming (Zhuge Liang), advisor to the ruler Liu Bei, who lived about five hundred years before Tu Fu. Secondly, this is a minor point, but I think the discussion of poem 25 erroneously compares it to poem 7 instead of to poem 16.
An excellent, excellent book.
About my reviews: I try to review every book I read, including those that I don't end up enjoying. The reviews are not scholarly, but just indicate my reaction as a reader, reading being my addiction. I am miserly with 5-star reviews; 4 stars means I liked a book very much; 3 stars means I liked it; 2 stars means I didn't like it (though often the 2-star books are very popular with other readers and/or are by authors whose other work I've loved).
I note that the final prose translations of the poems are rather flat. The examination leading up to each prose rendition, however, conveys both meaning and impact. I also note that the book often made me melancholy. The upheavals of war and shifting political power were not kind to Tu Fu. A sense of loss pervades the collection, as in the fourth poem where he thinks about his far-distant wife and children, or the tenth poem where briefly meets an old friend for a single night, or the thirty-first poem where he thinks about a dead dancer whom he saw as a small boy.
Two additional remarks. Firstly, I was interested to learn that Tu Fu was a huge admirer of Kongming (Zhuge Liang), advisor to the ruler Liu Bei, who lived about five hundred years before Tu Fu. Secondly, this is a minor point, but I think the discussion of poem 25 erroneously compares it to poem 7 instead of to poem 16.
An excellent, excellent book.
About my reviews: I try to review every book I read, including those that I don't end up enjoying. The reviews are not scholarly, but just indicate my reaction as a reader, reading being my addiction. I am miserly with 5-star reviews; 4 stars means I liked a book very much; 3 stars means I liked it; 2 stars means I didn't like it (though often the 2-star books are very popular with other readers and/or are by authors whose other work I've loved).
April 24, 2021
Not a great read per se.
The author is frank at the outset about what this primer contains and intends to accomplish.
Not sure exactly why, but I found it rather "flat."
That said, I am a fluent reader of Chinese and perhaps I was looking for a more creative interpretation of the poetry and their background.
The author is frank at the outset about what this primer contains and intends to accomplish.
Not sure exactly why, but I found it rather "flat."
That said, I am a fluent reader of Chinese and perhaps I was looking for a more creative interpretation of the poetry and their background.
March 31, 2024
This is an older book from the 1980s which is still very important. Taking around 30 famous poems, Hawkes explains the Chinese characters and then gives an exegesis and basic translation.
August 23, 2020
Excellent intro to Du Fu's poems. For each of his 35 poems collected within 300 Tang poems, there is the original chinese text, hanyu pinyin transliteration, historical background, line by line exegesis and finally overall translation.
故人入我梦，明我长相忆。
杜甫诗句里，这一句，久久在脑子里环绕。
故人入我梦，明我长相忆。
杜甫诗句里，这一句，久久在脑子里环绕。
August 21, 2024
This book is a bilingual publication of 35 poems by Tu Fu. Including material abut poetic forms, background to the poems, "Word for Word " translation and then a prose translation for each poem.
This book is not so useful for me because
1) the word for word is not really exact. Hawks translates 10,000 as myriad, for instance. In other words he is already translating and glossing words in the "Word for word" sections which seems bazaar and does not help the reader learn the language.
2) The word for word translations are far away from the Chinese Character text so it is hard to compare the character to his English translation of it. yuk.
It is much better to use Yip's book or the Stephen Owen complete Du Fu books.
This book is not so useful for me because
1) the word for word is not really exact. Hawks translates 10,000 as myriad, for instance. In other words he is already translating and glossing words in the "Word for word" sections which seems bazaar and does not help the reader learn the language.
2) The word for word translations are far away from the Chinese Character text so it is hard to compare the character to his English translation of it. yuk.
It is much better to use Yip's book or the Stephen Owen complete Du Fu books.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews