Writers › Writer / Poet

Wu Jun (Shuqing)

Southern Dynasties master of landscape prose (469–520 CE), founder of the 'Wu Jun style', celebrated for 'Letter to Zhu Yuansi' portraying the Fuchun River.

Also known as Wu Shuqing · Master Wu Jun

Wu Jun (469–520 CE), style name Shuqing, was a preeminent Southern Dynasties prose master and historian. His distinctively crisp, vigorous prose sparked the widespread 'Wu Jun style'. His landscape letters, especially 'Letter to Zhu Yuansi', captured the sublime beauty of Jiangnan waterways, while his 'Xu Qi Xie Ji' enriched early Chinese fiction.

Life and times

  1. 469BornNorthern and Southern
  2. 520 CEDied

Works

  1. Literature · Fiction18
    1. Sequel to the Records of Qi XieNorthern and SouthernWu Jun's seventeen Liang tales of the strange, including the scholar in the goose cage
    2. Sequel to the Records of Qi Xie: The Scholar of YangxianNorthern and Southern
    3. Sequel to the Records of Qi Xie: Huo Guang's Golden Phoenix LinchpinNorthern and Southern
    4. Sequel to the Records of Qi Xie: Tian Zhen and the Redbud TreeNorthern and Southern
    5. Sequel to the Records of Qi Xie: The Oriole Repays a KindnessNorthern and Southern
    6. +13 more
      1. Sequel to the Records of Qi Xie: Xu Jingshan Paints MulletNorthern and Southern
      2. Sequel to the Records of Qi Xie: The Spotted Fox Visits Minister ZhangNorthern and Southern
      3. Sequel to the Records of Qi Xie: The Heaven-Piercing Rhinoceros-Horn HairpinNorthern and Southern
      4. Sequel to the Records of Qi Xie: The Cage SongNorthern and Southern
      5. Sequel to the Records of Qi Xie: Climbing Heights on the Ninth DayNorthern and Southern
      6. Sequel to the Records of Qi Xie: The Winding Stream on the Third Day of the Third MonthNorthern and Southern
      7. Sequel to the Records of Qi Xie: The Weaver Girl Weds the CowherdNorthern and Southern
      8. Sequel to the Records of Qi Xie: The Eye-Brightening PouchNorthern and Southern
      9. Sequel to the Records of Qi Xie: Zongzi for the Dragon Boat FestivalNorthern and Southern
      10. Sequel to the Records of Qi Xie: White Fat PorridgeNorthern and Southern
      11. Sequel to the Records of Qi Xie: The Stone of Meixi MountainNorthern and Southern
      12. Sequel to the Records of Qi Xie: Xu Qiufu Treats a GhostNorthern and Southern
      13. Sequel to the Records of Qi Xie: The Goddess of the Qingxi TempleNorthern and Southern
  2. Literature · Poetry13
    1. Matching Xiao Zixian's Poems in the Old MannerNorthern and SouthernWu Jun's six old-style poems for Xiao Zixian: women weeping for absent men, to the Jade Gate
    2. Poems Exchanged with Liu YunNorthern and SouthernSix poems Wu Jun exchanged with Liu Yun, giving voice to wives and travellers through parting
    3. Mulberries by the Path · Soft and Swaying BoughsNorthern and SouthernWu Jun's mulberry song: a girl wipes her tears, lifts her basket and grieves for one far away
    4. The King of Qin Folds His RobesNorthern and SouthernWu Jun's palace song: in spring at Xianyang the Qin ruler folds scented robes as a gift
    5. Gathering Lotus · A Brocade Sash and Flowered PinsNorthern and SouthernWu Jun's lotus song: a southern girl picks lotus for a man in far Liaoxi and begs him home
    6. +8 more
      1. Hand in Hand · Spring on the Banks of the Clear LuoNorthern and SouthernWu Jun's hand-in-hand song: a spring day by the Luo, and the fear that new friends forget
      2. For Du Rongcheng: Two Swallows Meet AgainNorthern and SouthernWu Jun's poem for Du Rongcheng: two swallows meet again, and one tells why the sea road kept it
      3. A Spring Poem: Where Has Spring Come FromNorthern and SouthernWu Jun asks where spring comes from, as the plum stirs and a far-off love leaves a lonely cup
      4. A Cast-Off Wife to Her Former HusbandNorthern and SouthernWu Jun speaks for a dismissed wife writing to her former husband, asking only for a word
      5. On a Handsome YouthNorthern and SouthernWu Jun on a favoured youth, set beside the beauties of old and the Yue boatman's quilt
      6. Boudoir Lament · The Nomad Pipes Keep Breaking OffNorthern and SouthernWu Jun's wife by the river, three thousand li from her soldier, with no one to dress for
      7. Where Shall I Dwell?Northern and SouthernWu Jun's discarded favorite: a new beauty arrives and the old one is left to the Long Lane
      8. The Charms of Three WivesNorthern and SouthernWu Jun's three wives: one plays strings, one the pipe, and the youngest presses wine on you
  3. Literature · Sayings5
    1. Sky and Mountains Share One HueNorthern and SouthernAphorism from Wu Jun's letter to Zhu Yuansi: sky and hills blending into one color
    2. Wondrous Peaks and Rare Waters of the FuchunNorthern and SouthernAphorism from Wu Jun's letter to Zhu Yuansi: the matchless scenery of the Fuchun River
    3. Ambition Stilled at the Sight of the PeaksNorthern and SouthernIdiom from Wu Jun's Letter to Zhu Yuansi: mountain scenery that quiets worldly ambition
    4. Peering into the Valleys and Forgetting to ReturnNorthern and SouthernFamous line from Wu Jun's letter to Zhu Yuansi: so enchanted by valleys one forgets to return
    5. Wind and Haze Swept Clean over the Fuchun RiverNorthern and SouthernFamous line from Wu Jun's letter to Zhu Yuansi: a sky swept clear over river and hills
  4. Literature · Prose2
    1. Letter to Zhu YuansiNorthern and SouthernWu Jun's parallel-prose letter on the Fuchun River's peaks and waters from Fuyang to Tonglu
    2. Letter to Attendant ShiNorthern and SouthernWu Jun's brief Liang letter on a green mountain near Guzhang: cliffs, lone peak, birds, gibbons

Records

The Wu Jun Style

Liang

Wu Jun, courtesy name Shuxiang, was a man of Guzhang in Wuxing. His prose was clear and lofty with an archaic air, and admirers imitated it, calling it the Wu Jun style.

References (1)