| 姓： | 陆 | ||
| 名： | 游 | ||
| 字： | 务观 | ||
| 网笔号： | 放翁 | ||
| 今属： | 浙江绍兴 | ||
| 出生地： | 越州山阴 | ||
阅读陆游 Lu You在诗海的作品!!! | |||
南宋诗人。字务观，号放翁，越州山阴（今浙江绍兴）人，他始终坚持抗金，在仕途上不断受到当权派的排斥打击。中年入蜀抗金，军事生活丰富了他的文学内容，作品吐露出万丈光芒，成为杰出诗人。词作量不如诗篇巨大，但和诗同样贯穿了爱国主义精神，“气吞残虏”。
[陆游]
在南宋中期的几位著名诗人中，如果说杨万里和范成大在题材方面各有所重，在风
格方面各有所长，那么，陆游作为整个宋代留存作品最多的一位诗人，他的诗以更为广
泛的题材、更为多样化的风格和更为老练的技巧，取得了更为显著的成就。尤其是他的
诗中始终表现出一种激烈而深沉的民族情感，反映着在那山河破碎、民族危亡的年代人
们的普遍心愿，在当时以及后世，都赢得了广泛的尊重。
一、陆游的生平与创作
陆游（1125—1210）字务观，中年自号放翁，山阴（今浙江绍兴）人。他的祖父陆
佃是王安石的学生，当过尚书右丞；父亲陆宰，当过京西路转运副使。在靖康元年
（1126）金兵南侵前后，陆宰被免职，带着家眷南归故乡，侥幸地逃过了那一场大劫难。
但北宋王朝覆灭的耻辱，却深深地铭刻在当日每一个怀有民族自尊感的士大夫心中，据
陆游《跋傅给事帖》说，绍兴初年他刚懂事时，经常看到长辈们“相与言及国事，或裂
眦嚼齿，或流涕痛哭，人人自期以杀身翊戴王室，虽丑裔方张，视之蔑如也”。这样一
个时代、社会与家庭氛围，使陆游从小就受到了一种民族意识的熏陶。
成年后的陆游，生活道路大致可以分为三个阶段。
从绍兴十四年（1144）到乾道五年（1170）为第一阶段。
大约二十岁时，陆游与表妹唐琬结婚，不久，由于陆游的母亲不喜欢这位儿媳，这
对感情深厚的夫妻硬被拆散，陆游再娶王氏，唐琬也改嫁他人。但这件事使得陆游在精
神上受到很大的打击，他一生中写了不少诗追怀唐琬和这一段不幸的婚姻。绍兴二十三
年（1153），陆游到临安应考，省试第一，然而在第二年的复试中，却因他名列于权相
秦桧的孙子之前，又喜论恢复，被除了名。直到几年后秦桧死去，他才得到起用，任福
州宁德县主簿，不久调回临安任职，后来做过枢密院编修，和范成大、周必大等人一起，
担任文字方面的工作。
这时，金主完颜亮率数十万大军南下，进逼川陕、荆襄与淮扬，宋金夹江对峙，发
生大规模的激战。幸而金人内部矛盾爆发，完颜亮被杀，宋金又一次达成和议，以淮水
为界，南宋王朝才度过了又一次危机。在民族命运面临危难的关头，陆游的热情和理想
被充分激发出来，形诸许多诗篇。至孝宗即位后，主战派占了上风，张浚以右丞相兼枢
密使主持北伐，他对陆游十分赏识。但很快北伐失利，隆兴和议签订，张浚被解除职务。
不久前刚刚调为隆兴府通判的陆游也被扣上“鼓唱是非，力说张浚用兵”（《宋史》本
传）的罪名，罢黜归乡，一住就是五年，直到四十六岁时出任夔州通判。
从乾道六年（1170）到淳熙五年（1178）是第二阶段。陆游于乾道六年底到达夔州，
一年以后，应四川宣抚使王炎之请，入幕襄理军务。四川宣抚使驻汉中，是抗金的前线，
王炎又是一个干练的领导，这时陆游感到非常兴奋，从此生活与创作都出现了一片新天
地。他身穿戎装，骑马走遍汉中一带的军事要塞，置身金戈铁马，面对萧萧边关，耳听
刁斗笳鼓，写下了不少激昂慷慨的诗词。但这种快意的生活却没有几个月的时间，随着
王炎调回临安，陆游也被调至成都担任安抚司参议官的闲职。他似乎感到抗击女真、收
复失地的理想又一次成了泡影，在失望之余，把时光多半消磨在歌儿舞女、酒宴应酬之
中，想在这沉醉中压下心头的痛苦。
当淳熙二年（1175），陆游几经调动再回到成都时，范成大也以四川制置使的身份
来到这里，旧友异地相逢，十分亲热，常在一起饮酒酬唱。陆游原本豪放不羁，这时因
抗金的抱负与个人的事业都受到挫折，更是借酒浇愁，放浪形骸。因他“不拘礼法”，
被一些人讥为“颓放”（《宋史》本传），并于淳熙三年被罢去知嘉州的官职。陆游索
性自号“放翁”，表示对抗和蔑视的态度。但尽管他外表上旷达颓放，饮酒寻乐，内心
却常常充满了忧患、愤慨和悲哀，我们从他这一年所作的《关山月》可以看到：
和戎诏下十五年，将军不战空临边。朱门沉沉按歌舞，厩马肥死弓断弦。戍楼刁斗
催落月，三十从军今白发。笛里谁知壮士心，沙头空照征人骨。中原干戈古亦闻，岂有
逆胡传子孙。遗民忍死望恢复，几处今宵垂泪痕。
在川陕，陆游一共住了九年，由于他亲自到了第一线，体验了战场气氛，并经历欲
战不能、壮志难酬的感情波澜，所以他在这期间的诗歌创作获得了以前所没有的成就；
他的全部诗集命名为《剑南诗稿》，正是为了纪念这一段值得留恋的生活。
从淳熙五年到去世是第三阶段。五十四岁的陆游于淳熙五年离川东归后，曾担任过
提举福建常平茶盐公事，但不久就被赵汝愚弹劾，罢职回乡。此后近三十年间，虽几度
出任公职，大部分时间过的是比较清寒的在野生活。在这二十多年赋闲的时间里，他一
方面与乡民亲切交往，从而对农村生活有了较深的理解，一方面优游山水，赋诗作词，
在大自然山水中寄托自己的情怀，排遣自己的愁思。但是，他期望抗金北伐的热情始终
不曾减退，常常在梦里都想着打到了北方，收复了失地，平时则看到一幅画、几朵花，
喝上几杯酒，听了一声雁叫，都会激起他的满腔心事。正因为这种心情，他才在嘉泰、
开禧年间以七十几岁高龄又一次复出，并为主战的权臣韩侂胄写了一些颂扬文字。尽管
韩侂胄的为人受到很多批评，但毕竟在北伐抗金这一点上，陆游与他是一致的。
可是理想再一次破灭，直到陆游去世，他也没有盼到北伐的胜利。嘉定二年（1209）
年底（按公历算已是次年元月），八十五岁的陆游一病不起，在临终前，他留下了一首
《示儿》诗：
死去元知万事空，但悲不见九州同。王师北定中原日，家祭无忘告乃翁。
陆游一生创作甚富。其《剑南诗稿》八十五卷，收诗九千余首，另有《渭南文集》
五十卷，其中包括词二卷（单独刻行的名为《放翁词》）。他的文学成就首先在诗歌方
面。陆游主要生活在宋金对峙的年代，南宋王朝北伐成功的可能和失败的危险同时存在，
因此朝野上下主战主和的争议如风潮起伏，动荡不息。而对于一部分民族自尊心尤其强
烈的士大夫来说，为国家和民族洗雪耻辱，恢复失去的疆土，解救在金朝统治下的人民，
是他们在无论何种情况下都不能放弃的心愿；而宋代文人通常受到抑制的激情，在这种
情况下也可以得到比较充分的宣泄。陆游留下的大量诗篇中，最有代表性的就是反映这
一种思想情感的作品。
这类作品同时由两个侧面组成：一方面是他渴望万里从戎、以身报国的豪壮理想，
另一方面则是他壮志难酬、无路请缨的悲愤心情。无论是早年的“战死士所有，耻复守
妻孥”（《夜读兵书》），或是中年的“逆胡未灭心未平，孤剑床头铿有声”（《三月
十七日夜醉中作》），还是晚年的“一闻战鼓意气生，犹能为国平燕赵”（《老马
行》），都始终纠结着上述两方面的情绪。而且，这两者相互激扬：愈是悲愤，他对理
想愈是执着；对理想愈是执着，他的悲愤也愈是强烈。这使他的诗歌既热情奔放，又深
沉悲怆，如下面这两首名作：
黄金错刀白玉装，夜穿窗扉出光芒。丈夫五十功未立，提刀独立顾八荒。京华结交
尽奇士，意气相期共生死。千年史册耻无名，一片丹心报天子。尔来从军天汉滨，南山
晓雪玉嶙峋。呜呼！楚虽三户能亡秦，岂有堂堂中国空无人。（《金错刀行》）
早岁那知世事艰，中原北望气如山。楼船夜雪瓜洲渡，铁马秋风大散关。塞上长城
空自许，镜中衰鬓已先斑。《出师》一表真名世，千载谁堪伯仲间！（《书愤》）
这种悲愤忠烈的感情一直在他心灵中激荡，使他夜不能寐，食不甘味，在梦中也常
常梦到“腥臊窟穴一洗空，太行北岳元无恙”（《九月十六日夜梦驻军河外遣使招降诸
城，觉而有作》），在秋声中也常常想到“草罢捷书重上马，却从銮驾下辽东”（《秋
声》），在夜间独坐也依稀觉得“三更骑报河冰合，铁马何人从我行”（《夜寒》），
在雪天也突然热血沸腾，想象“群胡束手仗天亡，弃甲纵横满战场”（《雪中忽起从戎
之兴戏作》），在《十一月四日风雨大作》诗中，他写道：
僵卧孤村不自哀，尚思为国戍轮台。夜阑卧听风吹雨，铁马冰河入梦来。
贯穿陆游一生的理想，也是他观察和评价一切的价值标准。从这一标准出发，他激
烈地抨击那些苟且偷安之辈和朝廷的妥协求和政策，因为这使得民族的耻辱永远难以洗
清，使他的理想一次又一次地破灭。“诸公尚守和亲策，志士虚捐少壮年”（《感
愤》），这种现状令陆游不由得仰天长叹“报国欲死无战场”（《陇头水》）。与此同
时，陆游虽然没有到过北方，却常以自己的心情去想象去推测北方人民的心情，并不断
以他们的名义向南方的权势者提出责问。在《关山月》中，他以“遗民忍死望恢复，几
处今宵垂泪痕”追问沉醉于歌舞的将领们的良心与责任；《夜读范至能〈揽辔录〉……》
则把北方父老的殷切期待和南宋统治阶层对主战人士的压制加以尖锐的对照，对朝廷的
用人政策表示了极大的愤慨，对朝廷是否真有收复失地的决心表示了根本的怀疑：“公
卿有党排宗泽，帷幄无人用岳飞。遗老不应知此恨，亦逢汉节解沾衣。”
而《秋夜将晓，出篱门迎凉有感》二首，正是从两面来落笔：
迢迢天汉西南落，喔喔邻鸡一再鸣。壮志病来消欲尽，出门搔首怆平生。
三万里河东入海，五千仞岳上摩天。遗民泪尽胡尘里，南望王师又一年。
在陆游的上述诗作中，固然有传统的忠君意识，但主要的，它是与那个特定历史阶
段中的民族情绪融为一体的，是当时人们普遍的共同心声。建立在理智上的清醒的政治
见解和感情上的爱憎好恶融汇在一起，形成了陆游这一类诗歌的宏亮的声调和阔大的气
势。
如果说以表现民族意识为主要内容、以豪放悲壮为感情基调的一类作品构成了陆游
诗歌的主旋律，那么，还应该注意到他也有不少诗歌是以细腻冲淡的笔法、闲适恬和的
情调，写自然景物和日常生活，它们构成了另一种旋律。而只有把两者合起来，才能看
到陆游的完整的人格精神和他的诗歌的完整的艺术风格。
后一类作品并不意味着陆游忘却了北方那象征着耻辱的土地，而常常是他在报国无
门的情况下一种无奈的寄托。特别是他后期的二三十年，大部分时间闲居在乡，一条无
法跨越的鸿沟隔在现实与理想之间，他只能在山水田园中寻求一时的解脱。不过，应该
说陆游对自然山水和乡村的日常生活确实是非常热爱的，常常能细心地体会出山水景物
的生机和情趣，咀嚼出日常生活里的深长的滋味，所以有不少诗都写得很有情致。如果
说他的抒发报国激情的诗作多是以强烈的感情和奔放的气势来冲击读者的心灵，那么这
一类诗作则多以平和朴素的韵味和深永秀逸的意境感染读者，使之在细细的品味涵咏中
感受到诗人的人生情趣、审美情趣。像《游山西村》：
莫笑农家腊酒浑，丰年留客足鸡豚。山重水复疑无路，柳暗花明又一村。箫鼓追随
春社近，衣冠简朴古风存。从今若许闲乘月，柱杖无时夜叩门。
这是对农家淳厚简朴生活的礼赞，在这里诗人的痛苦心灵得到了一种安顿。“从今
若许闲乘月”云云，似乎意味着诗人于难以在社会中完成自己的人格理想时，转而在闲
常的生活中追求一种完美的人生境界。因为有这种人生境界的存在，他才不至于从冲动
走向绝望，而能够保持心境的镇定与恬谈，能够在许多诗篇中，以盎然的兴趣，描绘出
山水景物与日常生活中美的意味，像《临安春雨初霁》中“小楼一夜听春雨，深巷明朝
卖杏花”；《初夏行平水道中》的“市桥压担莼丝滑，村店堆盘豆荚肥”，《西村》的
“茂林风送幽禽语，坏壁苔侵醉墨痕”等等。《剑门道中遇微雨》写道：
衣上征尘杂酒痕，远游无处不消魂。此身合是诗人未？细雨骑驴入剑门。
他既是征人，也是诗人。对理想事业的热情追求和对生活的热爱，合成了他的完整
的灵魂。但这两者也常在他的心中互相矛盾着，引起痛苦，而使他诗中的自然景象和生
活场景有时染上悲凉的色彩，像“山衔落日青横野，鸦起平沙黑蔽空”（《溪上作》），
“寺楼钟鼓催昏晓，墟落云烟自古今”（《度浮桥至南台》）等等；而《小园》一诗的
末句“行遍天涯千万里，却从邻父学种瓜”，更清楚地表达了他心中深藏的事业理想还
是要常常冲出情绪的表面。令他在观赏自然和体味日常生活时，也并不能总是保持平静。
不过，对陆游的诗歌需要注意到一点，就是：陆游虽然自号“放翁”，其实正统观
念还是较强的，所以他的诗歌无论表现报国的热情还是日常生活的情趣，大体上都是相
当“纯正”而很少出格的地方；换言之，陆游在抒发感情的时候，显然受到理智的约制。
因此，他的诗歌中的情感内容不够丰富复杂、活跃多变。这一点同也具有强烈的民族意
识、但性格不那么循规蹈矩而富于豪杰气概的辛弃疾相比，可以看出明显的区别。
二、陆游的诗歌艺术及其他
陆游早年学诗于曾幾，曾幾称赞他的诗像吕本中，他自己也很得意，可见他曾深受
江西诗派的影响。少年时代打下了这一烙印，直到他老年也并未完全消除，他不仅始终
保持了对诗歌语言精细考究的习惯，而且不时会写出些生新瘦硬、雕琢藻饰的诗句。不
过，中年以后，他的诗风有所变化，这主要是他广泛学习了前人之长。在陆游的诗文中
可以看出，从屈原、陶谢、李杜、高岑、韩孟、元白乃至宋代的梅苏，都是他借鉴的榜
样：屈原、杜甫、陶渊明诗的情感，李白、杜甫、白居易、梅尧臣等人诗的艺术风格，
从不同角度给予他一定的影响。
当然，陆游并不是简单地模仿古人。他有一句名言：“工夫在诗外。”（《示子
遹》）什么是诗外工夫呢？他的《题庐陵萧彦毓秀才诗卷后》又说：“法不孤生自古同，
痴人乃欲镂虚空。君诗妙处吾能识，正在山程水驿中。”这就是说，诗的妙处，来之于
丰富的生活经历和对现实世界的深切感受，而不可能在闭门造车、模拟古人中求得。另
一方面，陆游又很重视诗人的自我精神品格的涵养，《次韵和杨伯子主簿见赠》说：
“文章最忌百家衣，火龙黼黻世不知。谁能养气塞天地，吐出自足成虹霓。”他把
生活经历和内在涵养看成是写诗最根本的依据，所以，他虽然善于学习前人的风格、技
巧，化用前人的诗意、典故、词汇、句法，但这些只是他用来表现自己的情感和体验的
工具，而不是自我禁锢的圈牢。在这一点上，他同江西诗派强调“点铁成金”、“夺胎
换骨”是不一样的，对有些人陷在古人堆中不能自拔更是给予严厉的批评。
由于既广泛汲取前人之长，又从自身的需要出发灵活运用，各适其宜，陆游诗歌的
风格具有多样化的面貌。大体说来，他的好诗以七言为多，其中七言古体往往写得热情
奔放，七言绝句或雄快斩截，或轻灵含蕴；他的七言律诗最为人称道，而由于内容的不
同，风格上也有差异：抒发报国之志、悲愤之情的一类，偏向于深沉郁勃；描写自然景
物和日常生活的一类，则偏向于简淡古朴。如前面所录的《感愤》和《游山西村》，可
以作为两种类型的代表来看。
杜甫说“新诗改罢自长吟”（《解闷》），陆游则说“锻诗未就且长吟”（《昼卧
初起书事》），可见他和杜甫一样，对诗歌的形式和语言，也是很讲究的。特别是他的
七律，大都结构严整，对于辞句经过反复的推敲。像《红楼梦》第四十八回中香菱所摘
的一联“重帘不卷留香久，古砚微凹聚墨多”（《书室明暖……》），感受很细腻，写
得也很精致。再有，陆游读书广博，知识丰富，又毕竟受过江西诗派的熏陶，所以他也
喜欢运用典故，化用前人的诗句，刘克庄《后村诗话》甚至说：“古人好对偶被放翁用
尽。”像《游近村》“乞浆得酒人情好，卖剑买牛农事兴”是化用苏轼《浣溪沙》“卖
剑买牛真欲老，乞浆得酒更何求”；《小筑》“生来不啜猩猩酒，老去那营燕燕巢”是
化用白居易《感兴二首》之二“樽前诱得猩猩血，幕上偷安燕燕窠”。不过陆游很注意
将它们融化在自己的诗中，并翻陈出新，像著名的“山重水复疑无路，柳暗花明又一
村”，据说就是从绍兴间诗人强彦文诗句“远山初见疑无路，曲径徐行渐有村”（见周
煇《清波别志》）化出，但陆游的诗句更自然更有深意。
不过，陆游虽然很讲究作诗的技巧，但他最高的艺术追求，却是归于自然平淡。他
一再说“诗到无人爱处工”（《明日复理梦中意作》），“俗人犹爱未为诗”（《朝饥
示子聿》），“诗到令人不爱时”（《山房》），就是说要使诗达到一种大巧若拙的地
步，即所谓“好诗如灵丹，不杂膻荤肠”，“大巧谢雕琢，至刚反摧藏”（《夜坐示桑
甥十韵》）。所以，他的许多诗能在锤炼之后，显得温润圆熟，雅致而简朴。
但陆游诗歌的缺陷也很显著。作为一个大诗人，他善于学习和运用各种不同的风格，
但他的独创性不能算是很强的；
他写得太快太多，不免有粗糙的败笔，尤其是意境变化较少，词句自相蹈袭，每每
让人有似曾相识之感。清人朱彝尊说他“句法稠叠，读之终卷，令人生憎”（《书剑南
集后》），不是毫无道理的，赵翼《瓯北诗话》就专门举出过这方面的例子。
至于用典过于堆垛、化用前人诗句而缺乏新味的情况，也有不少，像徐俯《春日》
的名句“一百五日寒食雨，二十四番花信风”，陆游的《春日绝句》诗套作“二十四番
花有信，一百七日食犹寒”，就学得很笨拙。
除诗歌以外，陆游的词和散文也有一定成就。
陆游对于词的态度，有些自相矛盾：在正统的观念上，他不大看得起这种向来风格
内容不够严肃的文体，认为它是从“郑卫之音”而来且“其变愈薄”的产物，但又对它
有相当的兴趣，“渔歌菱唱，犹不能止“（《长短句序》），留下的作品也有一百来首。
由于对词怀有某种偏见，他的一部分词就写得相当随便，像一些写游宴赠妓、隐逸
学道的，艺术上显得粗糙。但他毕竟有深厚的文学修养，一部分寄寓了心灵深处的真情
实感的词，也会写得相当出色。如《钗头凤》：
红酥手，黄縢酒，满城春色宫墙柳。东风恶，欢情簿，一怀愁绪，几年离索。错、
错、错。春如旧，人空瘦，泪痕红浥鲛绡透。桃花落，闲池阁，山盟虽在，锦书难托。
莫、莫、莫。
这首词有人认为是为唐琬而作的，也有人认为与此无关。后说近是。不管怎样，其
中总是包涵了作者对人生的某种真切体验，才能把一对被阻隔的有情人的心理，写得如
此感人。而另外有许多抒写他的抗金报国之志的词，更是激情洋溢，如《诉衷情》：
当年万里觅封侯，匹马戍梁州。关河梦断何处，尘暗旧貂裘。胡未灭，鬓先秋，泪
空流。此生谁料，心在天山，身老沧州。
和同类题材的诗一样，一种报国无门的悲愤溢于言表，使人深受感动。还有一首
《卜算子·咏梅》，是以梅的形象自喻，表现一称清高孤傲、不肯与俗世合流的情怀，
也给人以鲜明的印象。
陆游对苏轼的词十分佩服，说它“歌之曲终，觉天风海雨逼人”（《跋东坡七夕词
后》），他自己的词，也较多地受到苏词的影响，常有意追求开阔豪放的风格。只是陆
游的词写得比较凝炼紧凑，而少有苏轼词的那种轻灵流动、开合变化。
陆游的散文中，一些短篇的题跋、书后之类，往往写得精整雄快，很有特色。如
《跋李庄简公家书》，数十字便勾勒出李光的“英伟刚毅之气”，如在目前。他的《入
蜀记》是一部日记体的纪游文，文字颇简练。尤其过三峡的一部分，多有对自然风光及
名胜古迹的描述，读来饶有趣味。
（中国文学史，章培恒 骆玉明，youth扫校）
Lu You (simplified Chinese: 陆游; traditional Chinese: 陸游; 1125–1209) was a prominent poet of China's Southern Song Dynasty(南宋).
Career
Early life and marriage
Lu You was born on a boat floating in the Wei River early on a rainy morning, October 17, 1125 (Chinese calendar). At the time of his birth, China was divided and the once-glorious Song dynasty in the northern part of the country had been invaded by the Jurchens of the Jin dynasty in the Jin–Song wars. The southern part of China continued to hold out as the Southern Song dynasty for another 150 years, but during Lu You's entire life, the country was threatened by invasion from the north. He is known for his many patriotic poems.
One year after his birth, the troops of the Jin dynasty conquered the capital of the Northern Song dynasty; his family fled to the south. Lu You's family included government officials, and he received a good education. He was brought up to be patriotic, and grew up determined to expel the foreign Jurchen from the North and bring about the reunification of China under the Song dynasty.
Lu You grew up with his cousin Tang Wan (唐琬), who was quiet but loved literature. They fell deeply in love and were married when he was 20. But they had no children, and his mother did not like Tang Wan. Though they had lived happily together, his mother forced them to divorce in order to make Lu You concentrate on studying to fulfill his aspiration of saving the Song dynasty. In traditional Chinese culture, children were required to obey their parents. Lu You loved his mother and reluctantly divorced Tang Wan. She later married a nobleman named Zhao Shicheng (趙士程), and he married a woman from the Wang clan (her personal name eludes most researchers).
Lu You was sad after his first marriage broke up. One spring day, at age 31, eight years after their divorce, he passed by Shen's Garden (沈園) and by chance encountered Tang Wan and her husband. Tang Wan asked her husband to let her send a cup of wine to Lu You. When her hands passed the wine to him, he saw her eyes brimmed with tears. His heart was broken, and he drank the cup of bitter wine to the bottom. He turned away and on the spot wrote the poem "Fonqhwang Hairpinin" (Chai Tou Feng, 釵頭鳳) on the wall of Shen's Garden. After this meeting with Tang Wan, Lu You went to the North to struggle against the foreign Jin dynasty, before returning to southern Shu (蜀, today's Sichuan) to pursue his dream of unifying China.
When Tang Wan read Lu You's poem in the garden, she immediately wrote one in the same form in response. Less than a year later, she died. In the year before Lu You’s death, at age 85, he wrote another poem called “Shen's Garden” to commemorate Tang Wan, his first love. A traditional Yue opera was written about Lu You and Tang Wan, and their love story is very famous in China.
Official career
At age 12, Lu You was already an excellent writer, had mastered the skill of sword fighting, and had delved deeply into war strategy. At age 19, he took the civil service examination, but did not pass. Ten years later, he took it again; this time he not only passed it, he was the first winner in the Lin An region. But this triumph brought him trouble. Qin Sun, the grandson of the powerful Qin Hui (秦檜, a notorious aristocratic traitor in the Song Dynasty), had also taken the exam. Lu You's win threatened Qin Sun's position, as Lu You was now likely to take first place in the next year's national examination. In fact, not only Lu You, but all the potential winners of the next year's nationwide competition were excluded, along with even some of the examination officers.
After Qin Hui's death, Lu You started his official career in government. Because he avidly insisted on fighting against the Jin dynasty and did not follow the mainstream official lethargy on the subject, he was dismissed from his job. In 1172, he was hired to do strategic planning in the military. Military life opened his eyes and mind; he hoped to fulfill his aspiration of bringing a divided China back together. He wrote many unrestrained poems to express his passionate patriotism. But the Song Dynasty was by now corrupt and indolent; most officers just wanted to make a nice living; Lu You had no opportunity to deploy his talent."Entering upon a public career by virtue of his father's services, he fell into disfavour with Qin Hui; but after the latter's death he received an appointment, and in 1163 the Emperor Xiaozong(孝宗) made him a Compiler for the Privy Council and conferred upon him the honorary degree of Jinshi(進士)."
He was unsuccessful in his official career: he adopted a patriotic irredentist stance, advocating the expulsion of the Jurchen from northern China, but this position was out of tune with the times. In 1175, Fan Chengda(范成大) asked him to join his party. They shared literary interests, and now behaved casually in official society. Lu You felt there was no place for him in official life, and started to become self-indulgent, enjoying drinking to forget his lack of success in his personal life and career pursuit. He gave himself the art name "Fangweng" (放翁), meaning "Liberated Old Man", and was sarcastic about himself in his poems.
After several promotions and demotions, Lu You retired in 1190 to live in seclusion in his hometown Shaoxing (紹興, now in Zhejiang province), then a rural area. He spent the last twenty years of his life there. Lu You enjoyed good health and liked eating pearl barley and tree-ear mushrooms. This habit kept his vision and hearing keen until death. During his retirement, he still ardently supported fighting against the Jin dynasty, but without success. His wife died in 1197. On December 29, 1209 (Chinese calendar), he died at age 86. His great regret was knowing that northern China was still in the control of the foreigners.
Style
Lu You wrote about eleven thousand poems, in both the shi (詩) and ci (詞) forms, plus a number of prose works, which made him the poet who ranks the top in the list of numbers of the poems left before 15C. In his poetry he continues to articulate the beliefs which cost him his official career, calling for reconquest of the north. Watson identifies these works as part of the legacy of Du Fu (杜甫). Watson compares a second body of work, poems on country life and growing old, to those of Bai Juyi (白居易) and Tao Qian (陶潛).
His style can be divided into three periods.
First Period
The first Period of Lu You's works is from his teenage years to age 46. This period, although the longest, contains the fewest of his works, about two hundred poems, because he himself destroyed his early works in his later years.
Second Period
Second Period runs from age 46 to 54, including more than 2400 shi and ci. During this period, Lu You joined the military and was affected by that experience.
Third Period
The third Period runs from the time Lu You retired to his home town until his death. He did not have time to edit his work, and 6500 poems survive from this period. His work in this period includes peaceful pastoral images as well as desolation and bleakness.
Though his style changed throughout his life, his work is always full of patriotism. This is the most important feature of his poetry, and the major reason they have been valued for almost a thousand years.
Books
- 《劍南詩稿》(Jian Nan Shi Gao, the draft of poems when holding a sword in the southern borders)
- 《渭南文集》(Wei Nan Wen Ji, the collection of proses in the south of the Wei River)
- 《放翁逸稿》(Fang Weng Yi Gao, the lost drafts of the Liberated Old Man)
- 《南唐書》(Nan Tang Shu, Book of Southern Tang)
- 《老學庵筆記》(Lao Xue An Bi Ji, the notebook from the House of a Person Who Studies When He Is Old)
- 《放翁家訓》(Fang Weng Jia Xun, family precepts from the Liberated Old Man)
- 《家世舊文》(Jia Shi Jiu Wen, an old prose about the history of my family)
Poems
 | Wikisource has original works written by or about: Lu You |
Lu You wrote many poems. One of his most famous is "To My Son" (示兒, Shi Er). This is how it goes:
- To My Son (示兒)
死去元知萬事空，
但悲不見九州同。
王師北定中原日，
家祭無忘告乃翁。
All turns to dust in my dying eyes,
only hatred is that a unified land is not seen.
When the day of the emperor's troops sweeping the North comes,
you must not forget to tell me at my tombstone.
He composed this last poem when he was near death.
What this poem means is that he does not mind not being able to take anything with him when he dies, but he is upset to see that China is still not united as a nation. He is telling his son that if this day ever comes, his family must not forget to go to his grave and tell him there.
- Rainstorm on the Eleventh month 4th (十一月四日風雨大作)
僵臥孤邨不自哀，
尚思爲國戍輪台。
夜闌臥聽風吹雨，
鐵馬冰河入夢來。
I slept stiff and alone in a lonely village without feeling self-pity.
I am still thinking of fighting for my country.
Deep into the night I lie down and hear the wind blowing the rain.
The armored horses and the ice river came into my dream.
This poem was written when Lu was old and retired, but it shines with his patriotism and vivid depiction of the fighting scenes in the North.
- Fonqhwang Hairpin (釵頭鳳)
紅酥手，黃藤酒，
滿城春色宮墻柳。
東風惡，歡情薄，
一杯愁緒，幾年離索，錯，錯，錯。
萅如舊，人空瘦，
淚痕紅浥鮫綃透。
桃花落，閒池閣，
山盟雖在，錦書難托，莫，莫，莫。
Pink soft hands, yellow rippling wine,
The town is filled with Spring, willows by palace walls.
The east wind is biting, happiness is thin,
heart full of sorrow, so many years apart.
Wrong, Wrong, Wrong!
Spring is as of old; the person is empty and thin.
Traces of tears show through the sheer silk.
Peach blossoms falling, glimmering pond freezing,
The huge oath remains, the brocade book is hard to hold.
Don't, Don't, Don't!
Note: The words "wrong" and "don't" rhyme in Chinese.
This poem is about his real love story (see his marriage). In this poem, "Biting east wind" is a metaphor for traditional Chinese view about women. This view broke up his first marriage. "Brocade book", or "glorious/bright book," is another metaphor for his ambition of unifying China. But he doesn't seem to be successful in either of them (marriage and career). He also uses antithesis, which is very popular in Chinese poetry. It matches both sound and sense in two poetic lines, like "a heart of sorrow" pairing with "years apart" and "paramount promise" pairing "brocade book". The sounds match perfectly in Chinese. This poem falls in the first period of his works.
- Plum Blossom (卜算子-咏楳)
驛外斷橋邊
寂寞開無主
已是黃昏獨自愁
更著風和雨
無意苦爭春
一任群芳妒
零落成泥碾作塵
只有香如故
Near the broken bridge outside the fortress,
I go, lonely and disoriented.
It is dusk and I am alone and anxious,
especially when the wind and rain start to blow.
I do not mean to fight for Springtime,
I would rather be alone and envied by the crowd.
I will fall down, become earth, be crushed to dust.
My glory will be same as before.
See also
Further reading
- Burton Watson (ed.) (1984), The Columbia Book of Chinese Poetry, Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-05683-4.
- Burton Watson (trans.) (1994), The old man who does as he pleases, Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-10155-4.
- Philip Watson (trans.) (2007), Grand Canal, Great River: The Travel Diary of a Twelfth-century Chinese Poet, Frances Lincoln Publishers. ISBN 978-0-7112-2719-4.
Notes
- ^ Rexroth, 125
- ^ Excerpt from Encyclopædia Britannica ..article on Lu You
- ^ [permanent dead link] Photo of Shen Garden in modern-day Shaoxing, Zhejiang, China
- ^ Notable Women of China: Shang Dynasty to the Early Twentieth Century, by Barbara Bennett Peterson, p. 280
- ^ Article on the opera Archived 2009-02-23 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Entry on Lu You (Lu Yu) in A Chinese Biographical Dictionary, Herbert Giles, 1898, republished 2005 by Harvard University Press
- ^ Rexroth, 126
References
- Rexroth, Kenneth (1970). Love and the Turning Year: One Hundred More Poems from the Chinese. New York: New Directions.