Song Shou (991- 1041) from
Zhaozhou Pingji,
was an
official
An official is someone who holds an office (function or Mandate (politics), mandate, regardless of whether it carries an actual Office, working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority (eithe ...
,
scholar
A scholar is a person who is a researcher or has expertise in an academic discipline. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researcher at a university. An academic usually holds an advanced degree or a termina ...
and
book collector
Book collecting is the collecting of books, including seeking, locating, acquiring, organizing, cataloging, displaying, storing, and maintaining whatever books are of interest to a given collector. The love of books is '' bibliophilia'', and some ...
during China's
Song dynasty
The Song dynasty ( ) was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Fiv ...
.
Family
His father, Song Gao, was an officer and his son, Song Minqiu, was a scholar of
Longtu Pavilion in history and arts during the Northern
Song dynasty
The Song dynasty ( ) was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Fiv ...
. It was called Changshan Song family, because Zhaozhou Pingji was the local government of
Changshan Commandery
Changshan Commandery (常山郡), or Hengshan Commandery (恒山郡), was a historical commandery of China, located in present-day southern Hebei province.
The commandery was established as Hengshan by the Qin state after it annexed the state of ...
in
Han dynasty
The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...
.
Career
Son Shou served as vice minister of
Shumiyuan after working as assistant administrator in political affairs. In 1041, Song Shou died at age 50. Posthumously, he was entitled "Xuanxian".
[《宋史·卷二百九十一·宋绶传》] His writing style was exquisite and the emperor took some of his
calligraphy
Calligraphy () is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instruments. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "the art of giving form to signs in an e ...
, known as "Dynasty Style", for his personal collection. The calligraphy style is strict, and it referenced records of
Zhong Yao
Zhong Yao (鍾繇, 151 – April or May 230), also referred to as Zhong You, courtesy name Yuanchang (元常), was a Chinese calligrapher and politician who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty and Three Kingdoms period of China. He serv ...
and
Zhang Zhi. Song Shou authored several books, including ''Collection of Song Dynasty Edicts'' and ''Khitan Customs''.
His five poems are recorded in the book ''Whole
Song poetry
Song poetry is poetry typical of the Song dynasty of China, established by the Zhao (surname), Zhao family in China in 960 and lasted until 1279.
Many of the best known Classical Chinese poems, popular also in translation, are from the Song dyna ...
''.
See also
*
Changshan Commandery
Changshan Commandery (常山郡), or Hengshan Commandery (恒山郡), was a historical commandery of China, located in present-day southern Hebei province.
The commandery was established as Hengshan by the Qin state after it annexed the state of ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Song, Shou
991 births
1041 deaths
Song dynasty poets
Song dynasty government officials
China articles needing expert attention