Yang Wanli

Who was Yang Wanli?

Yang Wanli was a Chinese poet, born in Jishui, Jiangxi. He was one of the "four masters" of Song Dynasty poetry.

Written during the final exile of the Song to Hangzhou, the poems celebrate the beauties and mysteries of nature, flora and fauna, much as the famed Song painters did. But they also querulously and wittily illuminate the annoyances and pleasures of everyday life.

He passed his jinshi exams in 1154 and served a number of minor official posts in the Song Dynasty.