Editing Du Fu (section)

=== Moral engagement ===
A second favourite [[epithet]] of Chinese critics is that of "poet sage" ({{lang|zh-Hant|詩聖}}, ''shī shèng''), a counterpart to the philosophical sage, [[Confucius]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Yao|first1=Dan|title=Chinese Literature|last2=Li|first2=Ziliang|publisher=China Intercontinental Press|year=2005|isbn=978-7-5085-0979-2|location=Beijing|pages=82}}</ref> One of the earliest surviving works, ''The Song of the Wagons'' (from around 750), gives voice to the sufferings of a [[conscription|conscript]] soldier in the imperial army and a clear-sighted consciousness of suffering. These concerns are continuously articulated in poems on the lives of both soldiers and civilians produced by Du Fu throughout his life.{{Sfn|Watson|1984|p=xvii}}

Although Du Fu's frequent references to his own difficulties can give the impression of an all-consuming [[solipsism]], Hawkes argues that his "famous compassion in fact includes himself, viewed quite objectively and almost as an afterthought". He therefore "lends grandeur" to the wider picture by comparing it to "his own slightly comical triviality".{{Sfn|Hawkes|2016|p=204}}

Du Fu's compassion, for himself and for others, was part of his general broadening of the scope of poetry: he devoted many works to topics which had previously been considered unsuitable for poetic treatment. Zhang Jie wrote that for Du Fu, "everything in this world is poetry",{{Sfn|Chou|1995|p=67}}  Du wrote extensively on subjects such as domestic life, calligraphy, paintings, animals, and other poems.{{Sfn|Davis|1971|p=140}}