Writers › Writer / Poet
Yin Keng
Southern Chen poet from Guzang, renowned for his five-character verse, whom Du Fu cited as the model Li Bai often resembled.
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 Jian · Attendant Yin
Yin Keng, courtesy name Zijian, was from Guzang in Wuwei (today's Gansu), born in 511, the son of a Liang official. He served as registrar to Xiao Yi, Prince of Xiangdong, and under the Chen in the household of the Prince of Shixing; at Emperor Wen's request he composed a rhapsody on the new Anle Palace. He held the titles General Zhaoyuan, Prefect of Jinling and Attendant Cavalier, and died in 563. His five-character poems were admired for their limpid tone, and Du Fu said Li Bai's long poems often resembled his. His collection, once three scrolls, survives in one.
Life and times
- 511 CEBorn
Northern and Southern - 563 CEDied