num_pages: 256
description: Li Po (AD 701-62) and Tu Fu (AD 712-70) were devoted friends who are traditionally considered to be among China's greatest poets. Li Po, a legendary carouser, was an itinerant poet whose writing, often dream poems or spirit-journeys, soars to sublime heights in its descriptions of natural scenes and powerful emotions. His sheer escapism and joy is balanced by Tu Fu, who expresses the Confucian virtues of humanity and humility in more autobiographical works that are imbued with great compassion and earthy reality, and shot through with humour. Together these two poets of the T'ang dynasty complement each other so well that they often came to be spoken of as one - 'Li-Tu' - who covers the whole spectrum of human life, experience and feeling.
language: English
title: Li Po and Tu Fu: Poems
titlecomplete: Li Po and Tu Fu: Poems
genres: Asia, Nonfiction, Asian Literature, Medieval, Poetry, Chinese Literature, Literature, Classics, China, Canon
ratings_count: 539
publisher: Penguin Books