Lu Yun-yen is known as a leading member of the group of poets known as the Ta-li shih ts'ai-tzu(Ten Talents of the Ta-li Era[766-779]; the grouping included a dozen or so poets at various times including Ch'ien Ch'i and Li I). A native of P'u-chou(mod...
Lu Yun-yen is known as a leading member of the group of poets known as the Ta-li shih ts'ai-tzu(Ten Talents of the Ta-li Era[766-779]; the grouping included a dozen or so poets at various times including Ch'ien Ch'i and Li I). A native of P'u-chou(modern Yung-chi hsien in Shansi), he sat repeatedly for the chin-shih examination but never passed it. Consequently, he was dependent on his literary talents to obtain employment.
His first important patron was the Grand Councilor Yuan Tsai, under whose sponsorship he rose to the post of Investigating Censor, only to lose it during Yuan's Precipitous downfall in 777. Fortunately, Emperor Te-tsung, an admirer of his poetry, recalled him to Ch'ang-an in 780. He was still in the capital during its occupation by the rebel Chu Tz'u in 783. Freed in 784 by Hun Chen(736-799), the Military Commissioner of Ho-chung, he joined the latter's staff and probably died in that position.
Lu Lun's poetry reveals a variety of the matic material - a reflection of his broad experiences and extensive travels. His $quot;Wan-tz'u O-chou$quot; (Mooring at Night in O-chou) is an early example of his imagistic powers, written while in the South during the An Lu-shan Rebellion. The six quatrains comprising $quot;Ho Chang P'u-yeh sai-hsia ch'u (Frontier Songs: Matching Rhyrnes with Assistant Executive Secretary Chang), a product of his years in Hun Chen's camp, are some of the best-known examples of $quot;frontier poetry$quot;.
However, like the work of the other $quot;Ten Talents$quot;, his consists mainly of social poetry and occasional verse written in the favored form for such verses: pentasyllabic regulated verse. Indeed, it is such verses with which the group is traditionally identified.