Writers › Writer / Poet
Xie Hun
Eastern Jin poet and grandson of Xie An, courtesy name Shuyuan, praised as the finest talent south of the Yangtze, known for 'Visiting the Western Pond'.
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 Zi Shuyuan · Childhood name Yishou
Xie Hun, courtesy name Shuyuan, came from Yangxia in Chenjun (modern Taikang, Henan), a grandson of Xie An and youngest son of Xie Yan. He married Princess Jinling, a daughter of Emperor Xiaowu, and inherited the title Duke of Wangcai. He served as director of the Secretariat, commander of the Central Army and left vice director of the Department of State Affairs, and was allied with Liu Yi. In 412 Liu Yu, eliminating Liu Yi's faction, imprisoned Xie Hun and ordered him to take his own life. Famed for poetry and prose and praised as the finest talent south of the Yangtze, he left three poems, of which 'Visiting the Western Pond' is best known.
Life and times
Dates Birth year unknown; forced to take his own life in 412 CE