This section contains fun elements that we think complement this edition nicely. Below you will find a mock interview between Lu Chi and Oprah as we interpret it might be in 2017. Following that is meditative instrumental Chinese music that might be representative of Lu Chi’s writing.
Mock Oprah Interview with Lu Chi (Click to Listen)
Interview Transcript:
OPRAH (to the audience): Thank you! Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you. For the first time in history, writer and literary critic Lu Chi will be appearing on national television to do an interview right here on The Oprah Winfrey Show! Known for his most famous piece of work, The Art of Writing, Lu Chi was the very first major writer to emerge from the kingdom of Wu during the Three Kingdoms Period. Here to talk about his life and body of work, please welcome Lu Chi!
LU CHI: Thank you, Oprah. I am humbled to speak with you today although you must forgive me since it’s been almost two millennia since I’ve been out in the public eye.
OPRAH: We’re glad to have you here! Now, I understand that many people actually refer to you by different names— could you walk us through how you came to be most often labeled as Lu Chi?
LU CHI: Well, in addition to my birth name, I have a courtesy name called Shiheng; it is a Chinese tradition to bestow these names upon people in their adulthood. My birth name is actually Lu Ji, but the Wade-Giles romanization of Mandarin turned this name into Lu Chi— which I am most often referred to as in the present day.
OPRAH: And so many people do know your name and refer to you often in their literature studies. Why do you think people are still talking about you to this day? You died in 303 AD— just 42 years old. How did you make such a memorable life and career for yourself in such a short time?
LU CHI: I started off in the military because it was the lifestyle that my father and grandfather had set forth for me and my brother. I used my military knowledge and educational studies to write an essay on the reasons for the fall of the Wu kingdom, but my big break didn’t really come until I travelled to Luoyang, capital of the Jin dynasty, in order to meet Chang Hua, who was a very important official in the literary elite. My brother and I both used this opportunity as an advantage to gain a noble status and literary recognition.
OPRAH: And of course your publication of the Wen Fu had to have helped out with your reputation, right? Your work was completely unprecedented— nobody else in Chinese literary history had released a piece of literature quite like yours up to that point.
LU CHI: My goal in writing the Wen Fu was simply to honestly speak about my own struggles in putting my thoughts to words, in the hope that my experience might help another writer who is also struggling. I know that I personally would have appreciated reading a straightforward text about how to properly construct a composition while I was doing my own studies, and since that text didn’t quite exist just yet, I knew that I had to create it myself.
OPRAH: I’d say you definitely achieved that goal, then! Why did you choose to write it in the format that you did— the fu? Do you think the format also helped to add originality to your piece?
LU CHI: The fu poetic form isn’t original in itself, since it did emerge during the Han Dynasty, but I think it did add a unique layer to my work and helped to build my originality. The fu is most interesting because of the way it combines poetry and prose, and I think this best suited the descriptive content of Wen Fu. My piece was stuck between poetry and prose in the same way that writers might be stuck between two approaches while attempting to create their best work.
OPRAH: And if you had one piece of guidance from Wen Fu that you think still stands the most today, what message do you think that is?
LU CHI: For those of you questioning what the worth in reading might be, especially during a digital age like 2017, you must know that “the use of literature lies in its conveyance of every truth.” So long as you crave the knowledge of truth, you may turn to literature in order to gain your answer. Never stop reading and never stop learning from the writers that have preceded you.
OPRAH: That’s right, everybody! And in order to help you get started on this journey of truth, pull out your copy of The Art of Writing from underneath your seat! You get a copy! You get a copy! Everyone gets a copy! Let’s give Lu Chi a big round of applause!
LU CHI: Thank you, Oprah. It was a great pleasure to speak with you and share my knowledge and experience with the newest generation.
OPRAH: And thank you, Lu Chi! Tune in next week for an exclusive interview with Homer! It’s an episode you’re not going to want to miss. I’m Oprah; thanks for watching!
In section seven of Lu Chi’s Wen Fu, titled “The Five Shortcomings,” Lu Chi uses Music and Harmony as metaphors to show how written words should sound; just like a musician who plays his instruments and creates his musical pieces, so too should a writer construct his writing in harmony to create an emotional response. The following is a YouTube video of traditional Chinese music with many typical Chinese instruments playing in harmony with the goal of creating an emotional experience for the listener.
Traditional Chinese Instrumental Erhu Music