Most of what is known of Du Fu 's life comes from his poems . His paternal grandfather was Du Shenyan , a noted politician and poet during the reign of Empress Wu . Du Fu was born in 712 ; the exact birthplace is unknown , except that it was near Luoyang , Henan province ( Gong county is a favourite candidate ) . In later life , he considered himself to belong to the capital city of Chang 'an , ancestral hometown of the Du family .