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Ye Shaoweng

1100 – 1151

13th-century Song dynasty Chinese poet

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About Ye Shaoweng

Lived 1100 – 1151. Ye Shaoweng was a Chinese poet and historian.

Ye Shaoweng (; fl. 1200–1250) was a Southern Song dynasty Chinese poet from Longquan, in modern Lishui, Zhejiang province. He belonged to the Jianghu (Rivers and Lakes) School of poets, known for its unadorned style of poetry. He was an academician serving in the imperial archives in the capital Hangzhou, and authored a history on the reigns of the first four emperors of the Southern Song entitled Sicao Jianwen Lu (四朝見聞錄), covering the period of 1127–1224. He was a friend of the Neo-Confucian scholar Zhen Dexiu. Little else is known about his life.

Ye Shaoweng's most famous poem is Youyuan Buzhi (Visiting a Private Garden without Success):

遊園不值Visiting a Private Garden without Success

應憐屐齒印蒼苔It must be because he hates clogs on his moss 十扣柴扉久不開I knock ten times still his gate stayed closed 春色滿園關不住but spring can't be kept locked in a garden 一支紅杏出牆來a branch of red blossoms reached past the wall

The last couplet is often reused in later works, its meaning recast as a sexual innuendo. The African-American author Richard Wright wrote two haikus which bear close resemblance to Ye's poem.

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Important facts

Born
1100
Birth century
Died
1151
Occupation
Nationality
Also known as
Yeh Shao-weng, Sizong, Jingyi

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Ye Shaoweng's

Frequently asked questions

Who was Ye Shaoweng?

13th-century Song dynasty Chinese poet

When was Ye Shaoweng born?

Ye Shaoweng was born in 1100.

When did Ye Shaoweng die?

Ye Shaoweng died in 1151.

What was Ye Shaoweng's occupation?

Ye Shaoweng was a poet and historian.

What nationality was Ye Shaoweng?

Ye Shaoweng was Chinese.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Ye Shaoweng

· Wikidata: Q10916434

· DBpedia: Ye Shaoweng

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Ye Shaoweng. https://biography.guide/ye-shaoweng/

MLA: "Ye Shaoweng." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/ye-shaoweng/.

Chicago: "Ye Shaoweng." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/ye-shaoweng/.

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