Writers › Writer / Poet
Yan Shu
Northern Song chief minister and lyric poet, admitted to office as a child prodigy, who brought Fan Zhongyan, Han Qi and Fu Bi into government
In a study at night, a desk holds a brush pot, a porcelain vase with a plum branch, a lit red lantern, a folded fan and an unrolled blank scroll, with no one seated there, while through a round window the moon rises over a lake with a sailboat.
Also known as Zi Tongshu · Linzi Gong · Yuan Xian
Yan Shu, courtesy name Tongshu, came from Linchuan in Fuzhou and could compose prose at seven. Early in the Jingde era he was recommended as a child prodigy, sat the palace examination with a thousand candidates and was granted jinshi status by Emperor Zhenzong. Under the regency of Empress Dowager Liu he angered her by opposing Zhang Qi's appointment to the Bureau of Military Affairs, and after striking an attendant with his court tablet he was sent to govern Xuanzhou. He became head of the Bureau of Military Affairs in the Kangding era and in the Qingli years served as chief minister as well, while Fan Zhongyan, Han Qi and his son-in-law Fu Bi were brought into the government. After his dismissal he spent years in provincial posts and died in the capital in 1055, receiving the posthumous name Yuanxian. His song lyrics survive as Pearls and Jade (Zhuyu ci), and his son Yan Jidao also became known for his lyrics.
Life and times
Dates 991 CE–1055 CE