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He Xun

Liang-dynasty poet, courtesy name Zhongyan, who served as a bureau secretary to Prince Jian'an and was known for landscape and parting poems, paired with Liu Xiaochuo as "He and Liu".

Also known as Zhongyan · He of the Water Bureau

He Xun, courtesy name Zhongyan, came from Tan in Donghai and was a great-grandson of He Chengtian. Under the Liang he served as a bureau secretary to Xiao Wei, Prince of Jian'an, and later as record keeper to Xiao Xu, Prince of Luling. About a hundred of his poems survive, among them the plum-blossom poem written at the Yangzhou law office, often cited as an early landmark of plum poetry, and an imitation of the old Green Grass by the River poem preserved in the Yutai Xinyong. Later editors gathered his work as the Collected Works of He of the Water Bureau.

Life and times

  1. c. 468BornNorthern and Southernbirth sometimes given as 466 or 472; death as 518 or 519
  2. c. 518 CEDied

Works

  1. Literature · Poetry11
    1. Gazing at the River at Dusk, for Adjutant YuNorthern and SouthernHe Xun gazes at Pencheng at dusk and writes to Adjutant Yu of its music and his homesickness
    2. The Frivolous Youths of Chang'anNorthern and SouthernHe Xun's yuefu on the rich young men of Chang'an, their hounds, markets and endless feasts
    3. Looking in the Mirror · Pearl Blinds Rolled at DawnNorthern and SouthernHe Xun on a woman at her morning mirror, made up for a wanderer who does not come home
    4. Boudoir Lament · The Dawn River Sinks Behind the RoofNorthern and SouthernHe Xun's boudoir lament: alone through an autumn night, her longing as fixed as the North Star
    5. On the Seventh Night · The Immortal Carriage HaltsNorthern and SouthernHe Xun on the Seventh Night: the lovers' brief joy, their tears, and the widening Milky Way
    6. +6 more
      1. On a Dancing CourtesanNorthern and SouthernHe Xun on a dancer whose hands, brows and glances follow the music and hold the guests at dusk
      2. Watching a New BrideNorthern and SouthernHe Xun at a wedding: the bride behind her fan outshines the goddesses of old
      3. On a Courtesan's HouseNorthern and SouthernHe Xun on a courtesan's tower at night: candles, zither music, a woman alone at the window
      4. On White Gulls, Teasing One Who PartsNorthern and SouthernHe Xun teases parting lovers through a pair of white gulls that fly off east and west
      5. After 'Green, Green the Riverside Grass'Northern and SouthernHe Xun, after an old poem, on a parting that has come yet leaves the bond unbroken
      6. Teasing Consultant Liu XiaochuoNorthern and SouthernHe Xun teases Liu Xiaochuo: a lady lingers at dawn while he is already off to court

Records

He Xun Serves as Secretary of the Water Bureau

Tianjian years, Liang

In the Tianjian years He Xun began as court attendant, moved to acting aide in the water office of the Prince of Jian'an and acted as records secretary, then served the Prince of An'cheng and held the post of secretary in the Water Bureau. After mourning his mother he became records secretary to the Prince of Lüling and went again to Jiangzhou, where he died soon after.

References (1)

He Xun Writes Verse at Eight and Is Paired with Liu Xiaochuo

Tianjian years, Liang

He Xun could write verse at eight; his writing and Liu Xiaochuo's were both prized and people called the pair He and Liu. Seng Ru, Prince of Donghai, gathered his writings into eight fascicles. Fan Yun and Shen Yue loved his poems, and Shen Yue said he could read them three times a day and still not stop.

References (1)