Luo Yin ( 833 – 910,

courtesy name A courtesy name ( zh, s=字, p=zì, l=character), also known as a style name, is an additional name bestowed upon individuals at adulthood, complementing their given name. This tradition is prevalent in the East Asian cultural sphere, particula ...

Zhaojian), born Luo Heng, was a poet of the late Tang and early

Wuyue Wuyue (; ) was a Dynasties in Chinese history, dynastic state of China and one of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period#Ten Kingdoms, Ten Kingdoms during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period of History of China, Chinese history. It wa ...

dynasties. Luo's poetry was widely read and cherished, but he was unsuccessful in life; having failed the

imperial examination The imperial examination was a civil service examination system in History of China#Imperial China, Imperial China administered for the purpose of selecting candidates for the Civil service#China, state bureaucracy. The concept of choosing bureau ...

10 times, he was penniless until the warlord and Wuyue founder Qian Liu gave him official posts in his hometown Hang Prefecture. Luo was said to be very ugly and arrogant.

Life

Luo was born in Fuyang, Zhejiang. At the age of 20, he took his first

Imperial examination The imperial examination was a civil service examination system in History of China#Imperial China, Imperial China administered for the purpose of selecting candidates for the Civil service#China, state bureaucracy. The concept of choosing bureau ...

. He failed the exam ten times. As a result, he gave himself the pseudonym "Yin" (lit. "dormant"). He was said to be of ugly countenance, and that he thought highly of himself and looked down on others. A famous anecdote demonstrates his ugliness: grand councilor

Zheng Tian Zheng Tian (, 821?''New Book of Tang'', vol. 185./825?''Old Book of Tang'', vol. 178.–883?), courtesy name Taiwen (), formally Duke Wenzhao of Xingyang (), was a Chinese politician and military commander of the late Tang dynasty who served ...

had a young daughter who enjoyed literature, and Luo Yin's poems which she frequently read out loud were her favorite readings. Zheng Tian became worried about her

infatuation Infatuation, also known as being smitten, is the personal state of being overly driven by an uninformed or otherwise unreasonable passion, usually towards another person for whom one has developed strong Romantic love, romantic or sexual feelin ...

. One day, he invited Luo to his residence, and his daughter took a peek at the guest from behind the curtains. From that day on she never read his poems again. In 870, he was given a post in Hunan. However, he was unable to take advantage of the post, and returned to Zhejiang in 887. Penniless and frustrated, he later became an assistant to Qian Liu, but never shed his arrogant ways. He died at the age of 77.

Works

Luo Yin is best known for his plain spoken poetry and satiric wit. His most famous poem was called "Self Consolation" (): *:，。，。 *::A gain makes me sing; a loss makes me sullen. Worries and regrets are always around. If there is wine today, then today is the day to get drunk. Worry about tomorrow's worries when they come tomorrow.

Life

Works

References

Further reading