Writers › Writer / Poet
Feng Yansi
Southern Tang ci poet who was twice chancellor and wrote the Yangchun ji
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 Feng Zhengzhong · Zhengzhong
Feng Yansi, whose given name was first written with a different second character, courtesy name Zhengzhong, from Guangling, was born in 903, a ci poet of the Southern Tang. He served Li Bian, Emperor Liezu, and Li Jing, Emperor Yuanzong, was chancellor in 946 and again in 952, left the post in 958 and died in 960 with the posthumous name Zhongsu. His collection is the Yangchun ji. The Qing critic Liu Xizai wrote that Yan Shu took up the grace of his ci and Ouyang Xiu their depth. The histories mostly write his name Feng Yanji.
Life and times
- 903Born
Tang
Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms
Song - 960Died
Works
Literature · Sayings11- Ruffling a Pool of Spring WaterFive Dynasties and Ten KingdomsIdiom from Feng Yansi's lyric Ye Jin Men: stirring a spring pool, later teasing busybodies
- Plum Petals Mimicking Snow in the WindFive Dynasties and Ten KingdomsFamous line from Feng Yansi's Que Ta Zhi: plum petals whirling like snow
- What Business Is It of Yours? The Ripple on a Spring PondFive Dynasties and Ten KingdomsIdiom from the History of the Southern Tang: a royal jest, what business is it of yours
- Plum Petals Falling by the Thousand From Laden BoughsFive Dynasties and Ten KingdomsLine from Feng Yansi's Que Ta Zhi: plum petals drifting like snow as spring fades
- To Meet Again Year After YearFive Dynasties and Ten KingdomsLine from Feng Yansi's lyric Long Life: like swallows on the beam, together every year
+6 more
- A Banquet on a Spring DayFive Dynasties and Ten KingdomsLine from Feng Yansi's lyric Long Life: at a spring feast, a wife makes three wishes
- Unflinching as the Mirror Shows a Thinning FaceFive Dynasties and Ten KingdomsLine from Feng Yansi's Que Ta Zhi: sorrow wears a once rosy face thin
- Like Swallows on the Beam: Three Wishes at a Spring BanquetFive Dynasties and Ten KingdomsLine from Feng Yansi's Chang Ming Nü: swallows on the beam, a couple together every year
- Alone on a Small Bridge, Sleeves Full of WindFive Dynasties and Ten KingdomsLine from Feng Yansi's Que Ta Zhi: a lonely figure on a bridge in the wind
- Sick with Wine Before the Flowers Each SpringFive Dynasties and Ten KingdomsLine from Feng Yansi's Que Ta Zhi: drinking away spring sorrow until sick with wine
- A Sudden Wind Ruffles a Pool of Spring WaterFive Dynasties and Ten KingdomsLine from Feng Yansi's Ye Jin Men: a sudden breeze stirs the pool and the heart
- Literature · Lyrics4
- Magpie on the Bough: Who Says Idle Longings Have Long Been Cast AwayFive Dynasties and Ten KingdomsFeng Yansi's lyric of a melancholy that returns each spring, embraced without regret
- Magpie on the Bough: Plum Petals Fall from Crowded Boughs in Ten Thousand FlakesFive Dynasties and Ten KingdomsFeng Yansi's lyric of plum petals falling like snow and the emptiness after last night's music
- Paying Homage at the Golden Gate: Sudden Breeze RisesFive Dynasties and Ten KingdomsFeng Yansi's boudoir lyric whose opening line drew a famous jest from the Southern Tang ruler
- Lady of Longevity: Spring Day BanquetFive Dynasties and Ten KingdomsFeng Yansi's banquet lyric in a wife's voice, offering three wishes for a long life together
Connections
- Rulers and officials2
