Writers › Writer / Poet
Zhou Hongrang
Literatus of the Liang-Chen transition from Ancheng in Runan, younger brother of Zhou Hongzheng, who lived as a recluse on Mount Mao, served as Libationer of the Imperial University and early in the Chen as Minister of Ceremonies.
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 General Renwei Zhou Hongrang
Zhou Hongrang came from Ancheng in Runan; his grandfather was Zhou Yong, his father Zhou Baoshi, his brother Zhou Hongzheng and his younger brother Zhou Hongzhi. Early on his career went poorly and he lived in retirement on Mount Mao in Jurong, refusing repeated summons. After the Hou Jing rebellion he served as palace secretary, early in Emperor Yuan's Chengsheng era as Libationer of the Imperial University, and in the second year as General Renwei, building a fortified residence called Renwei Lei. Early in the Tianjia era of the Chen he held the posts of Minister of Ceremonies and Grand Master of Splendid Happiness as a commoner. The Gushi Yuan preserves his poem 'Farewell Gift to a Recluse in the Mountains'.
Life and times
Dates Dates unknown; recorded from the late Liang to the Tianjia era of the Chen (c. 548–566 CE)