Lu You, Ziwuguan, nicknamed Fangweng, Han nationality, was born in Shanyin, Yuezhou (now Shaoxing, Zhejiang), grandson of Shangshu Youcheng Lu Dian, a writer, historian and patriotic poet of the Southern Song Dynasty.
Lu You was born when the Northern Song Dynasty was destroyed, and he was deeply influenced by his family's patriotism when he was young. During the reign of Emperor Gaozong of the Song Dynasty, he participated in the examination of the Ministry of Rites, but his official career was not smooth because he was rejected by Qin Hui, the prime minister.
Lu You has been writing non-stop throughout his life and has made great achievements in poetry and literature. The language of his poems is easy to understand and the composition is rigorous. It combines Li Bai's majesty and unrestrainedness with Du Fu's melancholy and desolation. It is especially full of patriotic enthusiasm and has a profound influence on later generations. His achievements in poetry and prose are also high. Liu Kezhuang, a Song Dynasty poet, said that his poetry is "passionate and generous, and Jiaxuan cannot pass it." There are 85 volumes of "Jiannan Poetry Draft" compiled by hand, containing more than 9,000 poems. There are also 50 volumes of "Collected Works of Weinan", 10 volumes of "Notes of Laoxue'an" and "Book of the Southern Tang Dynasty". His calligraphy is vigorous and unrestrained, and some of his extant ink writings include "Bitter Cold Tie" and so on.