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Wu Wenying

Southern Song lyricist from Siming who never held office, lived as a retainer of great households, and wrote densely wrought song lyrics collected as Mengchuang ci

Also known as Zi Junte · Hao Mengchuang · Mengchuang Jushi

Wu Wenying, courtesy name Junte, sobriquet Mengchuang, came from Siming; born into the Weng family, he was adopted into the Wu line, and Weng Fenglong and Weng Yuanlong were his brothers. He never entered office and spent his life moving between Suzhou, Hangzhou and Yuezhou as a retainer of men such as Wu Qian and Jia Sidao, and in his last years of Zhao Yurui, Prince of Rong. A trained musician who composed his own tunes, he built his lyrics from closely worked diction and layered images, and some 340 of them survive as *Mengchuang ci*. Zhang Yan's *Origins of Song Lyrics* (*Ciyuan*) likened them to a tower of seven jewels that dazzles the eye but falls into fragments when taken apart, while Shen Yifu thought he had caught the art of Zhou Bangyan. The Qing critic Zhou Ji made him one of the four masters in his anthology of Song lyrics, and Zhu Zumou edited his collection four times.

Life and times

  1. c. 1200 CEBornSongYuan
  2. c. 1260 CEDied

Works

  1. Literature · Lyrics25
    1. Joy Equal to Heaven · Misty Waves on the West Mound RoadSongWu Wenying's long ci of returning to the West Mound road and a parting of ten years before
    2. Silk-Washing Stream · Behind the Gate, Deep in FlowersSongWu Wenying's short ci of a dream return to an old haunt and a spring night colder than autumn
    3. Silk-Washing Stream · Bronze Flowers Cold on the RipplesSongWu Wenying's short ci of an autumn night by a pond pavilion and a parting at dawn
    4. Wind Through the Pines · Hearing Wind and Rain Past QingmingSongWu Wenying's mid-length ci of Qingming wind and rain and a garden she no longer visits
    5. Gaoyang Terrace · Palace Powder and Carved TracesSongWu Wenying's long ci on scattered plum blossom, from a deserted shore to young fruit
    6. +20 more
      1. Treading the Grass · Moist Jade Veiled in GauzeSongWu Wenying's short ci of a Double Fifth noon dream of a woman beyond the river
      2. Auspicious Crane Immortal · Sunlit Gossamer Tangles My ThoughtsSongWu Wenying's long ci of late-spring longing and a letter rolled up with tears
      3. Night Roaming in the Palace · She Has Left the West TowerSongWu Wenying's short ci of a parting relived in a dream and white hair spun by autumn crickets
      4. Tangduo Tune · Where Is Sorrow Made?SongWu Wenying's mid-length ci that builds sorrow from autumn and heart on a traveller's road
      5. Clouds Crossing the River · A Blush of Red and a Faint RegretSongWu Wenying's long ci of a Qingming outing on West Lake and a glimpse of a beauty among flowers
      6. Night-Closing Blossom · Willows Darken the River BridgeSongWu Wenying's long ci on mooring again at Feng Gate, recalling a tender love of ten years ago
      7. Frosted Leaves Flying · Broken Mist and Thoughts of PartingSongWu Wenying's long ci of a lonely Double Ninth: chrysanthemums, white hair, a singer recalled
      8. Feast in the Pure Capital · An Embroidered Canopy on Mandarin-Duck PostsSongWu Wenying's long ci on twin-trunked crab-apples, seen through Emperor Xuanzong and Lady Yang
      9. Flower Crossing · A Small, Graceful BeautySongWu Wenying's long ci on narcissus sent by a friend, the flower met first as a beauty in a dream
      10. Rouged Lips · The Gloomy Clouds All Rolled AwaySongWu Wenying's short ci of a lantern-trial night clearing after rain, and an old love recalled
      11. Zhu Yingtai, Short Measure · Gathering Hidden FragranceSongWu Wenying's mid-length ci of a Cold Food Day far from home, wandering a ruined garden at Guixi
      12. Zhu Yingtai, Short Measure · Cutting Red Feeling, Trimming GreenSongWu Wenying's mid-length ci of a New Year's Eve that falls on the first day of spring
      13. Bathing in Orchid Fragrance · Coiled Silk at the WristSongWu Wenying's long ci of a Double Fifth in Huai'an, recalling a lost youth and a distant love
      14. Prelude of the Oriole's Song · Lingering Cold and Wine-SicknessSongWu Wenying's four-stanza long ci of late spring, mourning a love of ten years by West Lake
      15. Cherishing Chrysanthemums, Slow · Seeing a Guest Off on the Banks of WuSongWu Wenying's long ci of a late-autumn farewell feast for a friend on the Wu riverbank
      16. Gaoyang Terrace · Tall Bamboos in Finished Make-upSongWu Wenying's long ci written at Fengle Tower with a drawn rhyme, grieving for spring and age
      17. Charms of Three Beauties · Lakes and Hills Used to My DrinkingSongWu Wenying's long ci on passing his old home in the capital: the swallows remain, she is gone
      18. Eight Beats of Ganzhou · Mist Stretches Vast on All SidesSongWu Wenying's long ci on touring Lingyan Hill with fellow officials, among Wu palace ruins
      19. Partridge Sky · Red Lotus on the Pool Beside the RailingSongWu Wenying's short ci written at Huadu Temple, longing for home by Chang Gate
      20. Congratulating the Bridegroom · Tall Old Trees Breathe Out CloudSongWu Wenying's long ci on plum at Canglang with Master Lüzhai, mourning a hero of the revival