Xia Wanchun (; 4 October 163116 October 1647) was a
Ming dynasty
The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...
poet and soldier. The son of
Xia Yunyi and a child prodigy, Xia began writing poetry at a young age and died aged 17 while resisting the Manchu invaders.
Biography
Xia Wanchun established himself as a prodigious poet from a young age. He began writing poetry at age seven and was a disciple of
Chen Zilong
Chen Zilong (; 16081647) was a Chinese poet, essayist and official active during the late Ming dynasty and early Qing dynasty.
Career
In 1630, while in Beijing, Chen was introduced to an elderly Xu Guangqi, who shared that he had been working ...
. At age nine, Xia could already produce ''
fu'' verses in the ancient style.
[ Xia's '' ci'' poems are noted for their "enthusiasm and ]pathos
Pathos appeals to the emotions and ideals of the audience and elicits feelings that already reside in them. ''Pathos'' is a term most often used in rhetoric (in which it is considered one of the three modes of persuasion, alongside ethos and ...
",[ with one such poem titled "Plucking Mulberries" reading:
At age 15, alongside his father, Xia joined the army in its anti-]Qing
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...
campaign. He wrote of the fallen Ming soldiers: "Men of wisdom are dispersed like clouds, the state lies in ruins, alas! I have written eighteen ''jueju'' poems, and the pathos of these short songs exceeds that of any long lament. Only those endowed with ''qing
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...
'' are able to speak like this!"[
]
References
1631 births
1647 deaths
17th-century Chinese poets
{{China-poet-stub