You Lu

Born in 1125 in Shanyin, in present-day Shaoxing, Lu You became one of the most celebrated writers of the Southern Song dynasty. He lived through a time of political upheaval after northern China was lost to the Jurchen Jin, and that national crisis left a lasting mark on his writing and public life.

Lu You served as a government official, but his outspoken support for recovering the north often put him at odds with more cautious voices at court. Alongside his official career, he wrote on a remarkable scale: reference works describe him as one of the Southern Song's most important and prolific authors, with nearly 10,000 poems as well as prose pieces.

Readers still return to his work for its direct language, strong feeling, and vivid sense of real life. His poems can be fiercely patriotic, but they can also be tender and personal, capturing friendship, disappointment, rural scenes, and the reflections of old age with unusual warmth.