Lu Chi

(Lu Shih-heng). Born in 261; died in 303. Chinese poet. The son of an important government official, Lu Chi was falsely accused of treason and executed. More than 200 of his poems have been preserved, including his yüeh-fu songs. His poetry is imbued with sadness and a sense of the transitoriness of human existence. Lu Chi was the first to extensively use parallel construction in verse (p’ai-ou-wu), which became one of the norms of classical Chinese poetry. His Ode to the Elegant Word is one of the first Chinese works on poetics to analyze the genres of ancient literature. Although he emphasized form and praised originality, Lu Chi criticized stylistic caprice and poetry without content.

Born 1909. Chinese composer, musicologist, and public figure. Member of the Communist Party of China.

In the late 1930’s Lu Chi became famous for his mass songs. During the war against Japan (1937-45), he headed the music faculty of the Lu Hsin Academy of Arts in Yenan, the capital of the liberated areas. He wrote such popular revolutionary songs as “March of the Border Troops.” In 1949 he became chairman of the All-China Association of Literature and Art and deputy director of the Central Conservatory in T’ien-ching. Lii Chi is the author of many articles on problems of musical culture. During the 1950’s he frequently visited the USSR. In 1966, during the “cultural revolution” in China, he was persecuted.