Lu Zhi

Who was Lu Zhi?

Lu Zhi was Chinese writer of the Yuan dynasty. His courtesy name was Chudao and his pen name was Shuzhai. He was born in modern Zhuozhou, Hebei, although some accounts claim he was from modern Yongjia, Zhejiang.

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