Lu Ji (Shiheng)

Lu Ji (261–303), courtesy name Shiheng, was a writer and literary critic who lived during the late Three Kingdoms period and Jin dynasty of China. He was the fourth son of Lu Kang, a general of the state of Eastern Wu in the Three Kingdoms period, and a grandson of Lu Xun, a prominent general and statesman who served as the third Imperial Chancellor of Eastern Wu.

Lu Ji
陸機
BornFamily name: Lu (陸)
Given name: Ji (機)
Courtesy name: Shiheng (士衡)
261
Died303 (aged 42)
OccupationWriter, literary critic
Notable works
  • Meng Hu Xing (猛虎行)
  • Junzi Xing (君子行)
  • Chang'an You Xia Xie Xing (長安有狹邪行)
  • Fu Luo Dao Zhong Zuo (赴洛道中作)
  • Bian Wang Lun (辯亡論)
Relatives
This is a Chinese name; the family name is Lu.

Life

Lu Ji was related to the imperial family of the state of Eastern Wu. He was the fourth son of the general Lu Kang, who was a maternal grandson of Sun Ce, the elder brother and predecessor of Eastern Wu's founding emperor, Sun Quan. His paternal grandfather, Lu Xun, was a prominent general and statesman who served as the third Imperial Chancellor of Eastern Wu. After the Jin dynasty conquered Eastern Wu in 280, Lu Ji, along with his brother Lu Yun, moved to the Jin imperial capital, Luoyang. He served as a writer under the Jin government and was appointed president of the imperial academy. "He was too scintillating for the comfort of his jealous contemporaries; in 303 he, along with his two brothers and two sons, was put to death on a false charge of high treason."[1]

Writings
Pingfu Tie (平復帖) by Lu Ji, Palace Museum collection

Lu Ji wrote much lyric poetry but is better known for writing fu, a mixture of prose and poetry. He is best remembered for the Wen fu (文賦; On Literature), a piece of literary criticism that discourses on the principles of composition. Achilles Fang commented:

The Wen-fu is considered one of the most articulate treatises on Chinese poetics. The extent of its influence in Chinese literary history is equaled only by that of the sixth-century The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons of Liu Hsieh. In the original, the Wen-fu is rhymed, but does not employ regular rhythmic patterns: hence the term "rhymeprose."[2]

The first translation into English is by Chen Shixiang, who translated it into verse because, although the piece was rightly called the beginning of Chinese literary criticism, Lu Zhi wrote it as poetry.[3]

gollark: Of course not.
gollark: No, those were the ones in the identical environment except for assimilation-y agents™ chambers™.
gollark: What about the 18248 copies of you in GTech™ identical environment chambers™?
gollark: As me, you're required to subscribe to pattern identity theory.
gollark: That's poorly defined.

See also

Notes
  1. Weinberger, Eliot, ed. (2003). The New Directions Anthology of Classical Chinese Poetry. New Directions. p. 240. ISBN 0-8112-1540-7.
  2. Weinberger, Eliot, ed. (2003). The New Directions Anthology of Classical Chinese Poetry. New Directions. p. 241. ISBN 0-8112-1540-7.
  3. Lu, 1952 & p. vii.

References
  • 2005 Encyclopædia Britannica, copyrighted 1994-2005
  • Li, Siyong and Wei, Fengjuan, "Li Ji". Encyclopedia of China (Chinese Literature Edition), 1st ed.
  • Lu, Ji (1952). Essay on Literature. Translated by Chen, Shixiang. Portland, Me.: Anthoensen Press.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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