“WE have Dante, Shakespeare and Du Fu (712-770). These poets create the very values by which poetry is judged,” remarked Harvard professor Stephen Owen in “Du Fu, China’s Greatest Poet,” a recent BBC documentary.

Despite the fact that Du Fu is usually mentioned in the same breath as Virgil, Dante and Shakespeare by sinologists around the world, the Chinese poet-sage, also an immortal in the East Asian cultural sphere, has still remained largely unknown in the Western world.

However, with the screening of “Du Fu, China’s Greatest Poet,” the first English-language documentary feature about the poet, the days of Du Fu as China’s best-kept literary secret seem to be just numbered.

Inspired by the 1952 eponymous book by William Hung, the one-hour film features the elegant, meditative recital of Du Fu’s masterpieces by veteran British actor Ian McKellen, whose performance of Shakespeare’s works has already held the world spellbound.

It is written and presented by Michael Wood, an accomplished television historian. In the documen, Wood embarked on a pilgrimage to a number of places such as the poet’s birthplace Gongyi in Henan Province, the Tang Dynasty (618-907) capital Chang’an, today’s Xi’an, and the Du Fu Thatched Cottage in Southwest China’s Chengdu City.

Born in 712, the age of Beowulf in Britain, Du lived under the reign of Tang Emperor Xuanzong (713-756), a time marked by extraordinary prosperity, inclusiveness and cultural accomplishment.

However, as the An Lushan Rebellion of 755 floored the empire, Du, a former civil servant at the Tang court, was forced to become a porter under the rebel rule. Then he escaped, took his family on the road as refugees, and endured starvation and suffering. Through ups and downs, the poet never ceased writing, pouring out his concern for his country and people as well as celebrating the simple joys of life.

Wood’s journey on the ground and Sir Ian McKellen’s readings also mesh with meaty interviews with noted scholars specializing in Chinese literature, to help present a clearer picture of the poet’s life experiences, literary significance and his friendship with Li Bai, who has rivaled Du for the title of China’s greatest poet.

(China Daily)