A second favourite epithet of Chinese critics is that of " poet sage " ( 詩聖 shī shèng ) , a counterpart to the philosophical sage , Confucius . One of the earliest surviving works , The Song of the Wagons ( from around 750 ) , gives voice to the sufferings of a conscript soldier in the imperial army and a clear @-@ sighted consciousness of suffering . These concerns are continuously articulated in poems on the lives of both soldiers and civilians produced by Du Fu throughout his life .