Writers › Writer / Poet
Wei Chengban
Lyricist of the Shu states in the Five Dynasties who rose to grand commandant and appears in the Huajian Collection as Grand Commandant Wei; he left a dozen or so lyrics, mostly on boudoir themes.
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 Wei Chengban (variant character in some editions) · Grand Commandant Wei
Wei Chengban was a lyricist of the Shu states in the Five Dynasties; his dates are unknown. The Huajian Collection calls him Grand Commandant Wei, and some editions write his name Wei Chengban with a variant final character. Miao Yue counts him among the eighteen Huajian poets who served in western Shu. Over a dozen of his lyrics fill a section of the collection, to tunes such as Yu Lou Chun, Su Zhongqing and Pusaman, mostly on separation and longing in a woman's voice, in a clear and graceful manner. Little is recorded of his career or family.
Life and times
- UnknownBorn
Tang
Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms
Songactive in Shu during the Five Dynasties (907–965 CE) - UnknownDied
Works
Literature · Lyrics11- Deva-Like Barbarian · A Thin Silk Skirt Dyed Autumn-Wave BlueFive Dynasties and Ten KingdomsWei Chengban's short ci of a glance exchanged at a banquet and a meeting after the feast
- Deva-Like Barbarian · Gold-Paint Patterns Faint on a Silk RobeFive Dynasties and Ten KingdomsWei Chengban's short ci of a singer at an autumn feast and two hearts no one else can read
- Spring in the Jade Tower · Swallows on the Beams of a Silent HallFive Dynasties and Ten KingdomsWei Chengban's short ci of a woman in a silent hall, hurt by spring because her man never comes
- Spring in the Jade Tower · Brows Lightly Knit, White Teeth ShowingFive Dynasties and Ten KingdomsWei Chengban's short ci on a banquet singer whose clear voice stops the passing clouds
- Telling My Heart · Songs Done, the Feast Over, the Moon WaxingFive Dynasties and Ten KingdomsWei Chengban's short ci of a moonlit night after the feast, sleepless with longing
+6 more
- Telling My Heart · Late Spring, Flowers Crowding the Little TowerFive Dynasties and Ten KingdomsWei Chengban's short ci of a woman just up from spring sleep, clasping her lover's hand
- Telling My Heart · Clear Skies over the Silver RiverFive Dynasties and Ten KingdomsWei Chengban's short ci of a cool night alone, moonlight cutting the heart beside paired ducks
- Telling My Heart · Autumn Wind through the Green Window GauzeFive Dynasties and Ten KingdomsWei Chengban's short ci of an autumn night apart, dreams circling the world to a lover's door
- Telling My Heart · Spring Desire in Her Eyes, Cheeks Like Red SilkFive Dynasties and Ten KingdomsWei Chengban's short ci recalling a coy beauty and spring mornings of shared wine, now gone
- Hawthorn Fruit · Misty Rain Clearing at DuskFive Dynasties and Ten KingdomsWei Chengban's short ci of a woman alone after rain, pouring her grief into the zither
- Hawthorn Fruit · The Painted Hall Lonely and EmptyFive Dynasties and Ten KingdomsWei Chengban's short ci of a woman in an empty hall at night as another spring comes