 In his lifetime and immediately following his death , Du Fu was not greatly appreciated . In part this can be attributed to his stylistic and formal innovations , some of which are still " considered extremely daring and bizarre by Chinese critics . " There are few contemporary references to him — only eleven poems from six writers — and these describe him in terms of affection , but not as a paragon of poetic or moral ideals . Du Fu is also poorly represented in contemporary anthologies of poetry . 
