Lu Zhi was Chinese writer of the Yuan dynasty

Yuan Dynasty

The Yuan Dynasty , or Great Yuan Empire was a ruling dynasty founded by the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, who ruled most of present-day China, all of modern Mongolia and its surrounding areas, lasting officially from 1271 to 1368. It is considered both as a division of the Mongol Empire and as an...

. His courtesy name was Chudao (处道) and his pen name was Shuzhai (疏斋). He was born in modern Zhuozhou, Hebei

Zhuozhou

Zhuozhou is a county-level city with 628,000 inhabitants in Hebei province of China. It is administered by Baoding prefecture. Zhuozhou has 3 subdistricts, 6 towns, 5 townships, and 1 development zone.-Administrative Divisions:Subdistricts:...

, although some accounts claim he was from modern Yongjia, Zhejiang

Yongjia County

Yongjia County is a county in the southeast of Zhejiang province, People's Republic of China, located north of the city proper of Wenzhou, which administers the county. The Nanxi River Scenic Area is located within this county, and the river has been nominated on the tentative list of UNESCO...

.

Lu received his Jinshi degree in 1269 and served in various administrative positions until becoming a member of the Hanlin Academy

Hanlin Academy

The Hanlin Academy was an academic and administrative institution founded in the eighth century Tang dynasty China by Emperor Xuanzong.Membership in the academy was confined to an elite group of scholars, who performed secretarial and literary tasks for the court. One of its main duties was to...

. After Kublai Khan

Kublai Khan

Kublai Khan , born Kublai and also known by the temple name Shizu , was the fifth Great Khan of the Mongol Empire from 1260 to 1294 and the founder of the Yuan Dynasty in China...

had taken the throne, Chinese literary men were encouraged to serve the new ruling house at the palace, Lu was one of them. He was known for his works in various genres, but his sanqu lyrics have received special note as representative works of the genre’s early period. Many of the poet’s sanqu lyrics are characterized by historical themes and a desire for a reclusive life despite his position as a prominent Mongol regime high official. His works display a high level of literary accomplishment, along with forthrightness and directness of emotional expression. Much of his poetry displays a directness and clarity one would expect from anonymous and popular works.

About 120 poems are preserved in the Collected Yuan Sanqu Lyrics. Lu's collected works were lost. However his extant poetry and prose was again collected and published in 1984. Lu had an affair with the actress Zhu Lianxiu. The poems they exchanged are still extant.

Quotations

Dongting Lake, inscribed on the Deer Antler Temple Wall

Rains clear and clouds disperse,

A bright moon fills the river.

Winds subside and waves die down;

A single leaf of a ship.

Mind awake at midnight

With dreams of past, present and future.

Thousands of miles parted;

Sadly I lean against the ship’s window

And sleep a little.

Composed at the Lingying Inn

Plum blossoms hold the melting snow and bear it;

Willows lean with the eastern wind and wait their leaves.

Lithe girl, wine cups, room in a tower;

The red sleeved wanderer

Sings in a soft voice Coming of Spring.

Enjoying Myself

Soft tapping during the dance,

Red silk in the spring wind.

Soft clapping during the medley,

The moon and red castanets.

Golden oranges and flowing green wine,

Burners with incense and candles of red.

So much better than quiet talk in a cold room!

When sodden drunk I then went home,

Unable to recall who helped me on my horse.

Parting from Zhu Lianxiu

Just found joy,

Quickly parted.

The pain, the pain, so hard the leaving!

A colorful boat takes the spring and goes;

Vain it is keeping the bright moon in the river.