Lu Ji
Lu Ji (c. 261 – c. November 303), courtesy name Shiheng, was a Chinese essayist, military general, politician, and writer who lived during the late Three Kingdoms period and Jin dynasty of China.
Lu Ji
Public domain
- Name
- Lu Ji 陸機
- Birth Name
- Family name: Lu (陸) Given name: Ji (機) Courtesy name: Shiheng (士衡)
- Born
- 261
- Died
- c.November 303 (aged 42)
- Occupation
- Essayist, military general, politician, writer
- Nationality
- Western Jin dynasty · Eastern Wu
- Known for
- Wen fu
- Languages
- Classical Chinese
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Documentary summary
Lu Ji (c. 261 – c. November 303), courtesy name Shiheng, was a Chinese essayist, military general, politician, and writer who lived during the late Three Kingdoms period and Jin dynasty of China.
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Note VALÉORINE
Lu Ji (261–303) was a poet and writer, a national of Eastern Wu and Western Jin dynasty. The poet was born in Suzhou. Lu Ji lived in China.
Among the works is Wen fu. Languages used include Classical Chinese. Works are held at The Palace Museum.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 01 October 2026
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Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
gnd · 1186745010 · gnd · 1121593194 · wikidata · Q2326363
In this article
Biography
Biography
He was the fourth son of Lu Kang, a general of the state of Eastern Wu in the Three Kingdoms period, and a grandson of Lu Xun, a prominent general and statesman who served as the third Imperial Chancellor of Eastern Wu.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Lu Ji 陸機 • Birth Name — Family name: Lu (陸) Given name: Ji (機) Courtesy name: Shiheng (士衡) • Born — 261 • Died — c.November 303 (aged 42) • Occupation — Essayist, military general, politician, writer • Notable Works — * Meng Hu Xing (猛虎行) • Junzi Xing (君子行) • Chang'an You Xia Xie Xing (長安有狹邪行) • Fu Luo Dao Zhong Zuo (赴洛道中作) • Bian Wang Lun (辯亡論) • Relatives — * Lu Xun (grandfather) • Lu Kang (father) • Lu Yun (brother) • Lu Jing (brother) • Gu Ti (father-in-law) Lu
Life
Life
Lu Ji was related to the imperial family of the state of Eastern Wu. He was the fourth son of the general Lu Kang, who was a maternal grandson of Sun Ce, the elder brother and predecessor of Eastern Wu's founding emperor, Sun Quan. His paternal grandfather, Lu Xun, was a prominent general and statesman who served as the third Imperial Chancellor of Eastern Wu. After the Jin dynasty conquered Eastern Wu in 280 and killed two of his brothers, Lu Ji and his brother Lu Yun fled to Hua Ting in exile. While in exile, Lu wrote Dialectic of Destruction on the fall of the Wu empire. In 290, Lu and his brother moved to the Jin imperial capital, Luoyang. He served as a writer under the Jin government and was appointed president of the imperial academy. In 296, he was appointed to a military position. Lu's army suffered major casualties in a battle against Sima Ai in November 303 as part of the War of the Eight Princes. Shortly thereafter, Lu, his sons, and his two brothers were charged with treason and executed.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
261
Lu Ji born at Suzhou.
303
Lu Ji died.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
- China
Named but not plotted · 1
Suzhou.
Birth place
Writings
• Illustration — Pingfu Tie (平復帖) by Lu Ji, Palace Museum collection Lu Ji wrote much lyric poetry but is better known for writing fu, a mixture of prose and poetry. He is best remembered for the Wen fu (文賦; On Literature), a piece of literary criticism that discourses on the principles of composition. Achilles Fang commented: The Wen-fu is considered one of the most articulate treatises on Chinese poetics. The extent of its influence in Chinese literary history is equaled only by that of the sixth-century The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons of Liu Hsieh. In the original, the Wen-fu is rhymed, but does not employ regular rhythmic patterns: hence the term "rhymeprose." English translations of the Wen fu were done by E.R. Hughes and Achilles Fang. Chen Shixiang translated Wen fu into verse because, although the piece was rightly called the beginning of Chinese literary criticism, Lu Ji wrote it as poetry. Poets influenced by Wen fu include Ezra Pound, Gary Snyder, Howard Nemerov, Eleanor Wilner, Carolyn Kizer, and Olav H. Hauge. Lu Ji is also the writer of the oldest extant work of Chinese calligraphy, a short letter to his friends that has been named the Pingfutie (Consoling Letter).
Holdings and surviving copies
Where the work is held
Holdings and surviving copies
Where material relating to Lu Ji is held. Histone methyltransferase SETDB1 is required for prostate cancer cell proliferation, migration and invasion. Primary clear cell adenocarcinoma of the bladder with recurrence: a case report and literature review. Potential for Layered Double Hydroxides-Based, Innovative Drug Delivery Systems.
Documents and archives
Primary material
Documents and archives
authority file
- Gemeinsame Normdatei 1121593194, Lu, Ji.
General reference · Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
- Gemeinsame Normdatei 1186745010, Lu, Ji.
General reference · Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q2326363: Lu Ji
General reference · Wikidata
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.(高祖谦字公让，晋平原内史陆机姊夫。) Song Shu, vol.81
- 2.Both vol. 85 of Zizhi Tongjian and Emperor Hui's biography in Jin Shu indicate that Lu Ji was defeated on the wu'shen day of the 10th month of the 2nd year of the Tai'an era; the date corresponds to 3 Nov 303 in the Julian calendar. The same volume in Tongjian and Lu Ji's biography in Jin Shu indicate that he was executed shortly after this defeat. Thus, Lu Ji likely died in November 303. His biography in Jin Shu says that he was 43 (by East Asian reckoning) when he died.
- 3.Lu, Ji. The Art of Writing: Lu Chi's Wen Fu. Milkweed Editions. 11–26. 1991. 0-915943-62-X.
- 4.New Directions. The New Directions Anthology of Classical Chinese Poetry. 240. 2003. 0-8112-1540-7.
- 5.New Directions. The New Directions Anthology of Classical Chinese Poetry. 241. 2003. 0-8112-1540-7.
- 6.Olav H. Hauges poetikk. www.nb.no.
- 7.Hua, Ning. A Consoling Letter (Pingfu tie). The Palace Museum.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
authority file
Gemeinsame Normdatei 1121593194, Lu, Ji.Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
Secondary witnessauthority file
Gemeinsame Normdatei 1186745010, Lu, Ji.Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
Secondary witnessauthority record
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 15 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Books
39,078 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Lü BichengAuthor
- Lü DongbinAuthor
- Lu GuimengAuthor
- Lu HuaishenAuthor
- Lü LiuliangAuthor
- Lu LunAuthor
- Lu MärtenAuthor
- Lu Sheng-yenAuthor
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