“Du Fu: China's Greatest Poet 
”a 58-minute documentary released recently on BBC, introduces Du Fu to the Western world for the first timethe form of documentary. In the film, Michael Wood, one of BBC's most popular hosts, visited a number of Chinese(city) to retrace Du's steps. The documentary invited well-known British actor Ian McKellen,played Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings movies,(read) 15 of Du's poems that have been translated into English.
Born in 712, Du Fu lived through the violent fall of China's brilliant Tang Dynasty. lie had the desire to serve his country, but his life(destroy) by the An Lushan Rebellion of 755. Ofmany poems he wrote, 500 have been preserved over the ages. For generations he(be) the guardian of the moral conscience（良知）of the nation.
The documentary compared Du to Shakespeare to help audiences(well) understand the poet's great achievements in literature. It also highlighted Chinese poetry, noting that its 3000-year-old history makesthe oldest living tradition of poetry in the world.
During an interview, the director even quoted a line from Du to encourage the people(suffer) under the COVID-19 pandemic（流行病).
