Tu Fu
(712–770)

The Chinese poet Tu Fu was born into a family with a tradition of civil service and planned to become a government official himself. However, he failed his civil service examinations in 736, and so he spent the next few years of his life traveling. Although he longed for the security of a government position, his experiences on the road would be invaluable to his poetry.

As Tu Fu traveled, he observed, experienced, and wrote about everything from the beauty of the natural world to the horrors of war and poverty. He also developed a friendship with another great poet, Li Po, who had a profound influence on Tu Fu's poetry. Tu Fu never did achieve his lifelong goal of a holding a stable position in the government, but many people consider him to be the greatest Chinese poet of all time.

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