An Ode to Poet-Historian Du Fu

Considered to be one of China’s greatest poets and the country’s first poet-historian, Du Fu (712 to 770) lived in the era of the Tang Dynasty and suffered through decades of civil war and unrest, such as the An Lushan Rebellion of 755.

Du’s poems chronicled his life and the hardships his family and friends had to endure. More than 1,500 of his poems have been preserved over the ages, leaving a hugely influential legacy in both Chinese and Japanese literary cultures. In a highly acclaimed novel, Assoc Prof Boey Kim Cheng at NTU’s School of Humanities reimagines Du’s life journey based on episodes revealed in his poems.

Called Gull Between Heaven and Earth, the debut novel by the multi-award-winning author brings to life the struggles of a poetic soul in the harsh and unforgiving realities of turbulent times.

The novel Gull Between Heaven and Earth was published by Epigram Books in October 2017, ISBN: 9789814785242. Read an interview with the author.

This article appeared first in NTU’s research & innovation magazine Pushing Frontiers (issue #13, June 2018).