Du Fu’s Laments from the South

David R. McCraw has written the first serious book-length study in the West of the art of Du Fu (712-770), China’s greatest poet. Dr. McCraw introduces, translates, explicates, and analyzes 115 of the regulated octaves Du Fu composed during the last and most productive decade of his life. Written while Du Fu was a refugee in southern China, these poems are among the most original, influential, and lyrically beautiful in all of Chinese culture. Generally regarded as the most allusive and complex of Chinese classical poets, Du Fu is the recognized supreme master of the regulated octave – and the most difficult to rener adequately to a Western audience. McCraw’s accomplished translations bring the poet to light in a rare combination of accuracy and artistry. Without compromising a scrupulous adherence to the literal meaning of the original, McCraw has managed to convey to the reader a sense of what he calls the “music” of Du Fu’s verse. Moreover, McCraw not only familiarizes the reader wi