The name by which he is usually known,[2] Wuling, was his courtesy name,[4] his birth name having been Yu Ye.[4]
During the Dachong era (847–859)[2] he attained a jinshi degree in the imperial examination.[when?][4] Unsatisfied with his position, he took up a life of wandering around various parts of the country.[4]
After giving up his position at court and travelling around the country, he is supposed to have shown particular fondness for Dongting Lake and the Xiang River.[5] He spent his later years living in seclusion south of Mount Song.[6]
There is an anthology of his poetry called the Yu Wuling Ji (Chinese:于武陵集; pinyin:Yú Wūlíng-jí; Wade–Giles:Yu1 Wu2ling1 Chi1; lit.'Yu Wuling Anthology').[6] The two primary texts of his poems are found in Book 595 of the eighteenth-century Quan Tangshi and the Tangren Wushi Jia Xiaoji (Chinese:唐人五十家小集; pinyin:Tángrén Wǔshí Jiā Xiǎojí), which each order his poems differently.[8]
Ueki et al. speculate, based on a passage in the Song Huiyao (Chinese:宋会要; Chinese:宋會要; pinyin:Sòng Huìyāo) that records that qū zhī were offered as tribute from Srivijaya (Chinese:三佛齐国; Chinese:三佛齊國; pinyin:Sānfóqí-guó), that the "golden flagon" in this poem may also have been a valuable imported item.[6] This, combined with the use of mǎn zhuó ("brimming") create an atmosphere in the first half of the quatrain of an extravagant banquet.[6] This atmosphere contrasts with that of the last two lines, which carry the implication that one should drink deeply before the blossoms fall, before the time for parting arrives.[6]
The final line of this poem has become particularly well-known and is sometimes taken to represent Yu Wuling's view of life.[3]Masuji Ibuse's Japanese translation of this poem is also famous.[11]
Notes
↑Ōtani 2013 and Ueki et al. 1999 both state that his year of birth is not known.
