Shi Wenying

Wenying ( 11th century), courtesy name Daowen, was a Song dynasty Buddhist monk who authored the unofficial history books Xiangshan Yelu and Yuhu Qinghua.

Biography Wenying was a native of Qiantang (錢塘, modern Hangzhou), Hang Prefecture, Liangzhe Circuit of the Song Empire. He was a talented poet who studied under Ding Wei and received Ding's favors. He also befriended Su Shunqing who introduced him to Ouyang Xiu. He later lived in the Jinluan Monastery (金鑾寺) in Jing Prefecture in modern Hubei.

Wenying was fascinated by public affairs, and by the 1070s he had collected works by more than 200 writers since the dynasty began in 960. This collection, numbering thousands of chapters, included biographies, memorials to the throne, official historical records, obituaries inscribed on tombs, and religious texts from steles,