Song Zhiwen (born c. 656; his death is variously placed in 710, 712, or 713) was a Tang poet and man of letters, and is also classified as a calligrapher. He was also known as Song Shaolian; his courtesy name was Yanqing (延清, also written 延淸), he was fifth in birth order, and he was known as Song Kaogong after serving in the Office of Merit. His native place is given as Xihe in Fen prefecture (modern Fenyang, Shanxi) or Hongnong in Guo prefecture (modern Lingbao, Henan); one interpretation treats Xihe as his commandery affiliation and Hongnong as his actual registered origin.
Life
He passed the jinshi examination in 675. In 690, the first year of Tianshou, he and Yang Jiong took turns serving at the Xi yi guan; he later helped compile San jiao zhuying (《三教珠英》). Early appointments included service as a military registrar in Luozhou or Mingzhou—the prefecture differs between accounts—followed by service as Shangfang jiancheng and zuo Fengchen neigongfeng. A further account lists him as governor of Qizhou in Hubei.
When Empress Wu visited Longmen in Luoyang, she ordered the attending officials to compose poems. Dongfang Qiu finished first and received a brocade robe, but after Song Zhiwen submitted his poem, the empress judged it superior and transferred the robe to him. In 705, after currying favor with the Zhang brothers, he was demoted to military registrar in Longzhou. After the Zhangs fell, he returned under an amnesty to Luoyang and hid in Zhang Zhongzhi's household; when Zhang Zhongzhi and Wang Tongjiao plotted to kill Wu Sansi, Song Zhiwen had his nephew Song Tan report the plot, and was promoted to registrar of the Court of State Ceremonial.
During Jinglong, he served as Vice Director of the Ministry of Revenue, a direct academician of the Xiuwen Hall, and Vice Director of the Office of Merit, and he also acted as chief examiner; the year of the chief-examiner appointment is given as either 707 or 709. For accepting bribes, he was demoted to chief administrator of Yuezhou. After Ruizong's accession, he was exiled to Qinzhou because of his earlier attachment to Zhang Yizhi and Wu Sansi; he was later ordered to die in exile, probably during Xuanzong's Xiantian era (712).
Family and Associations
His father was Song Lingwen; his brothers were Song Zhiti and Song Zhixun, his son was Song Changzao (d. 778), and his nephew was Song Tan. He associated with Chen Zi'ang, Lu Zangyong, and other literary figures; he is also linked with the groups called “方外十友” and “仙宗十友”.
Literary Achievement
Song Zhiwen was skilled in literary composition and excelled in five-character regulated verse, with precise prosody. Alongside Shen Quanqi, he was known as “Shen-Song” and contributed to the completion of regulated verse in the early Tang. His five-character regulated poems are observant and meticulously wrought, combining ornate density with a natural effect; his long regulated poems use broad vistas and are rich, orderly, vigorous, and alert without becoming stagnant.
His imperial poems, including “Summer at Ren'e Pavilion in Response to an Imperial Command” and “Composed on the Imperial Procession to Fengshan”, retain the courtly patterns of the early Tang while opening into a broader vision. Poems written during exile, such as “Meeting Cold Food on the Road”, “At the Northern Station of Dayu Ridge”, and “Crossing Dayu Ridge”, turn sorrow into concentrated artistry, achieving depth through plain language and helping to open the way to the High Tang. Other celebrated pieces include “First Reaching the Cliff Mouth”, “Written on an Early Departure from the Shixing River Mouth to Xushi Village”, and “Lingyin Temple”; Shangguan Wan'er judged “In Harmony with the Double-Sixth Festival Imperial Visit to Kunming Pool” the best of the submitted poems. His five-character quatrain “Crossing the Han River” is plain in diction but deep in feeling, while the old-style poems “Returning to the Lu Hun Estate at Cold Food” and “The Bright River” are elaborate yet flowing and full of clear vitality, showing the transition between the early and High Tang. Hu Yinglin later called his regulated verse “the supreme regulated verse of all ages”.
Works
The original Song Zhiwen ji consisted of ten juan, was compiled by Wu Pingyi in the Tang, and was lost at an early date. A two-juan Song Zhiwen ji survives in a later compilation, while a nine-juan Song Xueshi ji was edited by Zhang Xie in the Ming; the two-juan collection also has an edition in the Sequel to the Sibu congkan, and Tao Min produced a collated study. Quan Tang Shi arranges his poems in three juan, while its supplementary collections add 27 poems and nine fragments. Song Zhiwen also participated in compiling San jiao zhuying, a work of 1,300 juan.
References
- CBDB Song Zhiwen (31560)
- 搜韵 宋之問 (13975)
- Wikidata Song Zhiwen (Q7561071)
- 法鼓佛教人名规范数据库 宋之問 (A011689)