Wu Wenying c.1200-c.1260

Poet of the southern Song dynasty. Not much is known about Wu's life, a fact which suggests that he never took or passed the civil service examinations. Approximately 350 ci poems by Wu have survived, most of them dealing with his personal concerns. In a statement recorded by the poet's friend Shen Yifu, Wu stressed such elements as musicality, elegant diction and indirect allusion as keystones in the composition of poetry.

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