Zhou Lianggong

Who was Zhou Lianggong?

Zhou Lianggong was a Chinese poet, born in Kaifeng was an essayist and art historian, and had long family ties to Nanjing.

He passed his Jinshi degree in 1640, becoming a magistrate in Shandong where he defended the city from attack from Manchu Qing army. He would however take his place in the new Manchu regime in a variety of official capacities. In 1655, he was accused of official corruption and finally faced imprisonment. There he edited his poetry collection Laigutang Ji. Zhou was eventually granted amnesty in 1661. He was accused again of corruption in 1669. He sentence was hanging, but was again given amnesty.

Late in life, he destroyed many of his writings, but fortunately not of his many associates, whose work he shaped and edited. Among his surviving works is a collection of jottings known as Yinshuwu Shuying, a work he compiled in prison, and a remarkable collection of letters, Chidu Xinchao. The collection of letters was a democratic undertaking. Many of the collected letters are by those who aided in the compilation. In a real sense, Zhou was chief editor. In the immediate years after his death, Zhou was considered a writer of the first rank. By the 18th century, he and other writers who had served two dynasties were then considered of a lower level. In the late 18th century, his works were considered anathema by the ruling monarch.