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
Dates 511 CE–563 CE