Writers › Writer / Poet
Wu Zhen (Lintao)
Qing poet of Lintao, known as Songya, leader of Gansu and Shaanxi poetry, whose line on the hua'er songs is an early literati mention of the genre.
Also known as Wu Zhen · Hao Songya · Zi Xinchen · Songhua Daoren
Wu Zhen, styled Xinchen and known as Songya or Songhua Daoren, came from Lintao in Gansu. A senior tribute student of 1741 and provincial graduate of 1750 who studied with Niu Yunzhen, he served as education officer in Yaozhou and Hancheng, magistrate of Lingxian and finally prefect of Yuanzhou. Dismissed from office, he lectured at the Lanshan Academy for eight years and exchanged poems with Yuan Mei, Wang Mingsheng and others, earning the title of master of poetry of the western provinces. His works are collected in the Songhua'an quanji. A couplet of his praising the imagery of the hua'er songs is often cited as an early literati record of the northwestern genre. He is not the Yuan painter of the same name.
Life and times
Dates 1721 CE–1797 CE