Lù Chuí jí 陸倕集
Collected Works of Lu Chui (Reconstructed) by 陸倕 (撰)
About the work
A reconstructed collection (jíyìběn 輯佚本) of the literary writings of Lù Chuí 陸倕 (470–526 CE), a Liang dynasty literary official associated with the Jingling 竟陵 literary circle and later the court of Emperor Wu 武帝 of Liang. Organized in six juǎn, the collection opens with the 〈酬德賦并序〉 (Rhapsody Repaying Virtue, with preface), whose preface provides explicit chronological anchors: the author composed it in reply to a gift poem from “右衛沈侯” (Senior Guard Shen), received in Jiànwǔ 建武 second year (495 CE) and fourth year (497 CE). Further pieces include the 〈思歸賦〉, 〈高松賦〉 (composed on the order of the Sītú 司徒 Jingling Prince Xiāo Zǐliáng 蕭子良), 〈杜若賦〉 (composed on the order of the Suí prince at age twenty-six — “時年二十六於坐獻”), 〈七夕賦〉 (composed on the order of the Hùjūn 護軍 prince), 〈擬宋玉風賦〉 (composed on the order of the Sītú prince), 〈遊後園賦〉, 〈臨楚江賦〉, and ritual hymns. Citations are from “本集” (Zhang Pu’s working copy of this collection), Yìwén lèijù 藝文類聚, Chūxué jì 初學記, Shī jì 詩紀 juǎn 56, and others. This jíyìběn was compiled by Zhāng Pǔ 張溥 (1602–1641) for his Hàn Wèi Liùcháo bǎisān jiā jí 漢魏六朝百三家集 and is not included in the Sìkù quánshū 四庫全書.
Tiyao
No tiyao found in source. This text is an extra-catalog reconstruction not included in the Sìkù quánshū 四庫全書.
Abstract
The attribution of this collection to Lù Chuí 陸倕 (470–526 CE; zì Zuǒgōng 佐公; CBDB id 432070) rests on convergent internal evidence rather than an explicit collection title in the source file. The most decisive clue is the 〈杜若賦〉 preface stating the piece was “奉隨王教作，時年二十六於坐獻” — composed on the order of the Suí 隨 prince at age twenty-six. If this composition dates to ca. 495–496 CE during the Jiànwǔ 建武 reign (495–498 CE) of Southern Qi, it places the author’s birth around 470 CE, matching Lù Chuí’s known lifespan exactly. The 〈高松賦〉 composed for “司徒竟陵王” (Xiāo Zǐliáng 蕭子良, 460–494 CE, the great Jingling literary patron), the reference to service in “梁邸” (the Liang prince’s household, i.e., that of Xiāo Yǎn 蕭衍, future Emperor Wu 武帝 of Liang), and the 〈酬德賦〉 addressed to a Senior Guard 沈侯 all fit Lù Chuí’s biography in Liángshū 梁書 juǎn 27 and Nán shǐ 南史 juǎn 48. Denecke et al. (Oxford Handbook of Classical Chinese Literature, 2017, 592) confirm Lù Chuí (470–526) as the last deceased writer included in the Wénxuǎn 文選, with his 〈Xīn kèlòu míng〉 新刻漏銘 noted there. This attribution is probable but not certain, and the collection carries no explicit author name in the Zhāng Pǔ jíyìběn format.
Lù Chuí was from Wúxīng 吳興 Dōngqiān 東遷 (modern Zhejiang). He was a member of the literary circle around Xiāo Zǐliáng 蕭子良 at Jingling (竟陵八友, the Eight Friends of Jingling), the most brilliant literary salon of the late Southern Qi period. He subsequently served Xiāo Yǎn and contributed to the Liang dynasty literary culture. His fù 賦 demonstrate the elaborate parallel-prose style, replete with allusions to earlier literary models (Sòng Yù 宋玉, Bān Gù 班固, Zhāng Héng 張衡) and introspective themes of exile, friendship, and political service, characteristic of the Southern Dynasties intellectual milieu.
Translations and research
- Knechtges, David R., and Taiping Chang, eds. Ancient and Early Medieval Chinese Literature: A Reference Guide. Leiden: Brill, 2010–2014. Entry on Lu Chui.
- Denecke, Wiebke, et al., eds. The Oxford Handbook of Classical Chinese Literature (1000 BCE–900 CE). Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017. (References to Lu Chui as the latest author in the Wenxuan.)
Links
- Wikipedia: Lu Chui