Song Lian

Life

As a child, Song Lian was bright and had a strong memory. His family was poor and books were scarce, so he borrowed books from collectors and copied them by hand; even when winter froze the inkstone and his fingers could not bend, he did not relax his efforts. He later entered Qingluo Mountain, remained in his study for several years, and read and memorized the tens of thousands of volumes held by the Zheng family. In his early years he studied with Wu Lai, Liu Guan, and Huang Qian, leading masters of Yuan-period classical prose; he later became a teacher of Fang Xiaoru. He was friends with Liu Ji and Zhu You and formed a friendship with Dai Xingzhong; Fang Xiaoru studied with him at Pujiang in 1377–1381.

At the end of the Yuan, he was appointed as, or summoned to serve as, a Hanlin compiler; his offices also included Compiler of the Hanlin National History Academy. Because he needed to care for his aged parents, he declined the summons and withdrew into the mountains, identified in different accounts as Longmen or Xianhua, taking the sobriquet Xuanzhenzi. After Zhu Yuanzhang captured Wuzhou, Song Lian was summoned to Yingtian together with Liu Ji, Zhang Yi, and Ye Chen. He became Educational Commissioner for Confucian Learning in Jiangnan, taught the Classics to the heir apparent, and was later appointed to the office of Qijuzhu.

In 1369, the second year of Hongwu, he was ordered to lead the compilation of the History of Yuan and served as chief editor; he also took part in compiling the Da Ming Rili. His subsequent offices included an academician of the Hanlin National History Academy, assistant director of the Imperial College, a secretary in the Ministry of Rites, magistrate of Anyuan, tutor to the heir apparent, and a Hanlin lecturer; he ultimately became Hanlin Academician-in-Chief and drafter of imperial edicts. He was demoted to compiler, transferred to the Imperial College, and briefly exiled as magistrate of Anyuan; in 1377, the tenth year of Hongwu, he retired because of age and returned home.

Family traditions give his father as Song Wenzhao, with Song Chao as an alternative, and his grandfather as Song Shoufu, with Song Dezheng as an alternative. His mother was Chen Xianshi, his brother was Song Yuan, his wife Jia Zhuan, and his sons were Song Zan and Song Sui; Song Shen was his eldest grandson. In 1380, the thirteenth year of Hongwu, Song Shen was implicated in the Hu Weiyong faction case. Song Lian's entire family was exiled or settled at Maozhou, and he died on the way at Kuizhou.

Learning and literature

His poetry and prose were praised for elegance, while some passages were considered refined and flowing; his shorter poems retained Yuan-period mannerisms, whereas his longer compositions often followed Han Yu and could at times become prolix. After the founding of the Ming, much of the court's ritual and ceremonial system was drafted by him. The Hongwu emperor called him "the foremost civil writer of the founding of the dynasty," Liu Ji called him "the foremost writer of the present day," and scholars called him Taishigong. Song Lian was ranked with Liu Ji and Gao Qi as one of the Three Great Poets and Writers of the early Ming; the Qianxi Collection reached Japan and was printed there. During the Ming, he was regarded as the foremost figure in the development of private book collecting.

Works

He took part in compiling the History of Yuan and the Da Ming Rili. His collected works appear under titles including Song Xueshi Wenji, Song Xueshi Quanji, and Song Xueshi Ji, while Qianxi Ji is another collection. Other titles attributed to him include Qianxi Su yan, Yan Shu, Luoshan Zayan, Longmenzi Ning Dao Ji, Wenzhang Zhengyuan, and Hongwu Shengzheng Ji.