Scholars › Historian
Shao Bowen
Scholar of the Northern-to-Southern Song transition and son of Shao Yong whose Shaoshi Wenjian Lu records Northern Song anecdotes.
In an archive hall, tall wooden shelves hold scrolls and bound books with small tags, and one person climbs a ladder with their back turned; a long table in front holds an unrolled river map, a bronze lamp and a copper jug, with a city wall seen through the window.
Also known as Zi Ziwen
Shao Bowen, courtesy name Ziwen, from Luoyang, was the son of the Neo-Confucian philosopher Shao Yong; recommended for office in the Yuanyou era, he held local posts and rose to vice fiscal commissioner of Lizhou circuit, known for integrity and independence from powerful factions. His twenty-chapter Shaoshi Wenjian Lu records Northern Song politics, personalities and Luoyang literati life and is an important historical source. The phrase 'feet planted on solid ground' comes from its account of Sima Guang.
Life and times
Dates 1057 CE–1134 CE