The poet with the most preserved poems in the history of Chinese literature is Lu You, with nearly 10,000 of his poems preserved.
Character profile:
Lu You (1125-1210), with the title of Wu Guan, nicknamed Fang Weng, Han nationality, was born in Shanyin, Yuezhou (now Shaoxing), and was a writer of the Southern Song Dynasty. Historian and patriotic poet.
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. After Emperor Xiaozong of the Song Dynasty came to the throne, he was granted a Jinshi background and served successively as the registrar of Ningde County in Fuzhou, the official of the imperial edict, and the general magistrate of Longxing Prefecture. Because of his persistence in resisting the Jin Dynasty, he was repeatedly rejected by the Zhuhe faction. In the seventh year of Qiandao (1171), at the invitation of Sichuan Xuanfu envoy Wang Yan, he joined the army and served in the Nanzheng shogunate. The following year, the shogunate was disbanded, and Lu You was ordered to enter Shu, where he became acquainted with Fan Chengda. After Emperor Guangzong of the Song Dynasty succeeded to the throne, he was promoted to be a doctor in the Ministry of Rites and a reviewer of the Academy of Records. Soon after, he was dismissed from office and returned to his hometown for "mocking and chanting the wind and moon". In the second year of Jiatai (1202), Emperor Ningzong of the Song Dynasty ordered Lu You to go to Beijing and preside over the compilation of Xiaozong's and Guangzong's "Records of the Two Dynasties" and "History of the Three Dynasties". After the book was completed, Lu You lived in seclusion in Shanyin for a long time. He passed away in the second year of Jiading (1210) and left his last work "Shi'er".
Lu You kept writing all his life and made great achievements in both poetry and prose. His poems have easy-to-understand language and neat and rigorous composition. They combine Li Bai's majestic and unrestrained and Du Fu's melancholy and desolate, and are especially full of patriotic enthusiasm for his poems. It has far-reaching influence on future generations. Lu You also has a talent for history. His "Book of the Southern Tang Dynasty" is "concise and accurate", and the historical commentary is colorful and has high historical value.