- Tu Long
Tu Long ( _zh. 屠隆;
Wade-Giles : T'u Lung, 1542–1605), was aplaywright andessayist who lived during theMing Dynasty . He was born in Yin county (now Yin county, in suburb ofNingpo city,Zhejiang ).In
1577 , Tu Long obtained the degree ofjinshi . He later became the ChiefMagistrate of Qinpu (now Qinpu county,Shanghai ). After he was libeled and quit his job, he concentrated on writing plays and essays.Tu Long rejected the adherence to strict ancient format, he advocated that a writer must write from his
heart .Works
* Drama: "Tan Hua Ji", ("The Story of Udumbara")
* Drama: "Cai Hau Ji", ("A Tale of Colorful Feather") about the Tang dynasty poetLi Bai 李白
* Poems: "Bai Yu Ji", ("White Elm Collection")Tu Long is best known internationally for his work on the art of living: "Kao Pan Yu Shi", (考槃余事, "Desultory Remarks on Furnishing the Abode of the Retired Scholar"), first published in 1606. "Desultory Remarks" has fifteen treatises:
1. Calligraphy and books
The art historian Craig Clunas suggests that the "Desultory Remarks" is essentially a compendium, gathered from other existing sources, such as
2. Rubbings
3. Paintings
4. Paper
5. Ink
6. Brushes
7. Inkstones
8. "Qin" ("zither s")
9. Incense
10. Tea
11. Potted plants
12. Fish and birds
13. Mountain studio
14. Necessities of life and dress
15. Utensils of the studioGao Lian 's "Eight Treatises on the Nurturing of Life", (for which Tu Long wrote a preface). Whether or not this is the case, Tu Long's discourses certainly had greater immediate recognition and influence; they were much more widely cited in later collections, and were a primary source forWen Zhenheng 's "Treatise of Superfluous Things." [Clunas is following the argument of Weng Tongwen, see "Superfluous Things: Material Culture and Social Status in Early Modern China", University of Hawaii Press 2004, ISBN 0-8248-2820-8, pp. 29-30.]References
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