Fu Ruojin

Life

Orphaned young and poor, he applied himself to study; his fellow townsman Fan Peng recognized him and he learned poetic technique from him. At about thirty, he went to the capital as a commoner; within days, his writings were circulating, and eminent men welcomed him as an honored guest. Yu Ji and Jie Xisi saw his poetry and praised it highly; Yu Ji and Song Jiong then recommended him as an exceptional talent.

He served as an assistant on a mission to Annam and, on returning, became Professor of Literature for Guangzhou Circuit; the office title also appears as Professor of Confucian Learning in the Various Circuit Governorates. His entry into office is classified as recruitment by summons. He died while holding the Guangzhou professorship; his death is variously dated to 1342 and to the third year of the Zhizheng era (1343), the latter account giving his age as forty.

Family

His father was 傅明可, and a brother is named 傅若雨; another account calls the brother 若川 and says that he reorganized and printed the poetry after Fu's death under the collective title Qingjiang ji (《清江集》). His wife was 孫淑 (1306–1328).

Literary achievement

Jie Xisi said that Fu's poetic manner was close to Fan Peng's, distinguishing Fan's mastery of seven-character song verse from Fu's strength in five-character ancient and regulated verse and placing the two poets on a par. Yu Ji wrote a preface to Fu's poetry, discussing the development of poetry in the early Yuan and reporting that the court and academy circles praised it without dissent. Yu Ji, Jie Xisi, and Fan Peng wrote prefaces to Fu's poetry collection; Liang Yin wrote a preface to Fu Yuli wenji (《傅與礪文集》), and Su Tianjue composed his epitaph.

Works

His poetry included 初稿, 南征稿, 使還新稿, and 牛鐸音. After his death, his brother Ruochuan reorganized and printed the poems under the collective title Qingjiang ji (《清江集》). His works are also titled Fu Yuli shiwenji (《傅與礪詩文集》) and Fu Yuli wenji (《傅與礪文集》).