‘Love in Jiangnan-a Cultural Journey in the Yangtze River Delta’ is a humanities and arts short-video-column produced by Radio, Voice of the Yangtze River Delta. In this episode, the blogger bring us to the countryside of Shaoxing where was hometown of Lu You, one of the most famous poets in China. This episode will show the rural world in Lu You’s poetry for the audience .

The poet who has left the most works in China is none other than him. He composed nearly 10,000 exquisite poems over the course of six decades. He also was the most venerable poet in China who departed this world at the ripe age of 85. He was skilled warrior wielding a sword, and a spoony lover who remained devoted till the end. He was an erudite scholar with a deep concern for the world, as well as a nagging elderly gentleman. His name is Lu You.

Don’t sneer at the lees in the peasants-wine. In a good year they’ve chicken and pork to offer guests. Where hills bend, streams wind and the pathway seems to end. Past dark willows and flowers in bloom lies another village. The poem ‘A Visit to the Village in the West’ has gained widespread recognition for its vivid depiction of the exuberant rural scenery in early spring in eastern Zhejiang. In that fateful year, at the age of 42, Lu You resigned from office nad returned to his hometown. He just completed the construction of his newly-built residence adjacent of Jian Lake. His newfound abode embraced by the protective arms of Shiyan Mountain,Hanjia Mountain, and Xinggong Mountain. Therefore, the house was named of ‘Three-hill Villa’.

One day, Lu You took a delightful stroll to the neighboring village, where the villagers were busy preparing for a spring festival to honor the god of land. They warmly welcomed him with open arms. In the agricultural era，spring held a special significance for our ancestor. During the second lunar month, when temperatures rose and the soil softened, people would celebrate with wine, chickens, flutes, and drums while praying to the god of land for a bountiful harvest. Regardless of past hardship, farmers found hope in the presence of their land and the arrival of spring.

They greet the spring sacrifice here with pipes and drums,

And dress simpy, keeping up the old traditions.

“A Visit to the Village in the West”

We know that, Lu You’s greatest wish was to recover the north for the Emperor of the Southern Song Dynasty. However, he ended up spending over 30 years in rural areas instead. As an educated person, who wouldn’t want to ‘make it big’ and return home triumphantly. Yet every time Lu You returned home, he either failed his exams or got fired from his job. Whenever he felt depressed, he longed to return to his hometown. In today’s words, ‘The city is too overwhelming, I long for the countryside’.

Over the dust on my white coat, I sigh;

I may will get home for Bright Day if I haste.

“Initial Clear After the Spring Rain in Lin’an”

Out of his more than 9,300 surviving poems, the vast majority were written in the countryside. When reading Lu You’s poems, you will encounter a profoundly affectionate countryside that evokes a strong sense of familiarity for anyone who has experienced rural life in China. The gifts of nature are cherished by people who also put in diligent efforts to cultivate their own homes. There is mutual support in hard work and joyous sharing in harvest time.

Every fisher living near the shore casts fishing lures into the water,

as the village and market adore the air with wisps of rising smoke.

“Autumn Thoughts”

In the wild, a tender quilt of wheat delicately unfolds

while the village is intertwined by the lush embrace of flourishing mulberry trees.

“Spring Night in the Study Wall”

Bestwoing gruel, our hearts go out to those toiling beneath the searing sun;

Presenting wrapped rice, we aid our neighbors in the struggles of cultivation.

“Rural life”

In every home, a novel elixir of delight is brewed as

neighbors graciously extend invitations, weaving

a tapestry of communal camaraderie.

“Late Autumn Village Chorus”

The villages in eastern Zhejiang during the 12th century were not isolated utopia. Instead, they thrived as vibrant commercial communities. The tea trade was located to the north of Lanting, while merchant ships sailed to the west of Keqiao. Market boats would then return from the market with goods for the town and news from the town and beyond.

Northward from Lanting unfolds a market where tea is traded.

To the west of Keqiao, the symphony of abundant oars

resonates with the river’s gentle currnet.

“Poem on the Lake”

I sit by the water’s edge,

waiting for the market boat to return.

“Autumn Cool Approaching”

Although the emperor gave him a ‘severance package’, Lu You was unable to ‘slack off’ due to his financial responsibility towards numerous family members. He leased out land to earn rental income. When he faced financial difficulties, Lu You had to suspend his sons’ education and send them out to collect rent. He cultivated vegetable gardens and medicical gardens surrounding his house, selling the produce and herbal materials at the market for money. Displaying generosity towards impoverished neighbors, Lu You always provided them with medicinal resources and offered treatment. All these earning him widespread admiration wherever he went. What filled him with utmost pride was the preservation of his family library, through which Lu You selflessly taught children in the village without charge, sparing them from seeking education elsewhere.

With flowers in hand, wine in my cup

Vegetables from the land, and coins from the market.

“Village Chorus”

With herbs on my donkey, I traveled the land,

and the people welcomed me with smiles and hands.

Dispensing Herbal Medicine While Traveling through Mountain Villages

With an heirloom of poem and books at hand,

I spare my students from searching far and wide.

“An Autumn Night”

On that trip to the village in the west, Lu You expressed in an exaggerated way, ‘Some evening when I’m free and there is moonlight, I shall stroll over with my stick and knock at their gate!’ The verse mentioned above turned out to be an accurate portrayal of LuYou’s late years. However, his nagging and reflections indicates that the countryside is not merely a source of poetry and utopia, but rather the very place where he was raised.