Lu Ding's biographical details are scarce: his courtesy name, native place, and dates of birth and death are all unrecorded, and public information about him is limited. Judging from the works that survive, he was an author who wrote in classical poetic forms. His writings were included by later anthologists in the Songshi Chao (Anthology of Song Poetry), where his collection appears under the title Zhong'an Ji Chao, and a separate work, Shuojian Yin (Chanting of the Sword), has also come down to us. These two works touch on both lyrical self-expression and documentary narrative; their language is compact, and their imagery often involves swords, scholars, and travel, revealing a vigorous yet somber tone. As a comprehensive anthology of Song poetry, the Songshi Chao has long been regarded as an important selection for the study of Song verse, and the inclusion of Lu Ding's work there indicates that the compilers considered his poetry somewhat representative. In the two works currently available, Lu Ding adheres to the metrical traditions of classical poetry while, in his documentary pieces, retaining attention to real life; his style tends toward the plain and forceful rather than the ornate. Because historical sources are lacking, his life, acquaintances, and creative background remain difficult to examine in detail, and readers may chiefly appreciate his poetic style through the works themselves.
