Du Fu (712--777) has been called China's greatest poet, and some call him the greatest nonepic, nondramatic poet whose writings survive in any language. Some 1,400 of Du Fu's poems survive today, his fame resting on about one hundred that have been widely admired over the centuries. Preeminent translator Burton Watson has selected 127 poems, including those for which Du Fu is best remembered, and lesser-known works.