The Poetry of Du Fu

This six volume work is the first complete translation of the poetry of Du Fu, the greatest poet in the Chinese tradition. The entirety of Du Fu’s works provides a more nuanced portrait of the author than the standard selections. It gives testimony to the great rebellion of 755, but also poems on building a chicken coop and repairing bamboo plumbing. In the whole we discover how the sublime and quotidian are united in a larger vision of life.

Stephen Owen is James Bryant Conant University Professor, Emeritus, at Harvard University.