You Lu

Born in 1125 in Shanyin, in present-day Shaoxing, Lu You lived through the upheaval that followed the fall of the Northern Song. He went on to serve in government during the Southern Song period, and the frustration he felt over national weakness and lost northern territory became one of the driving forces of his writing.

Lu You is remembered as one of the greatest and most prolific poets in Chinese literature. Britannica notes that nearly 10,000 of his poems survive, along with many prose works, and his writing is often praised for its plain, direct style and close attention to everyday reality.

His poems move easily between patriotic feeling, friendship, travel, aging, and private grief, which helps explain why they still feel alive centuries later. He remains one of the best-known literary voices of the Song dynasty and an enduring symbol of loyal, deeply felt poetry.