Zhou Bangyan was born in 1056. He was a native of Qiantang.
Political career
At the age of 23, Zhou went to live in the capital Bianliang as a student at the National Academy. In 1083 he published "Rhapsody on the capital", which described the bustle of Bianliang while also praising the Song dynasty's accomplishments. The poem pleased Emperor Shenzong, and Zhou was appointed Supervisor at the National Academy. In 1087, at the age of 31, Zhou was sent to Lu Prefecture in Anhui where he worked as an instructor. He stayed in the provinces for ten years, mostly as Sub-prefect of Lishui County in Jiangsu, before Emperor Zhezong recalled him in 1097 to be Registrar of the National Academy. He found favour with Emperor Zhezong and his successor Emperor Huizong, and thereafter rose through the ranks in the central government. He left the capital in 1112 to serve as Prefect of Longde-fu and Mingzhou, before returning in 1116 to become Director of the Palace Library, the highest position he received.
In 1118 Zhou was again assigned a prefectural post. After three transfers, he died in Nanjing in 1121, aged 66.
Names
His courtesy name was Meicheng, and his art name was Qingzhen Jushi.
Works
Zhou is especially famous as a composer of ci, a form of poetry that began in the Tang era and flourished during the Song Dynasty. His complex and elegant poetic style is noted for its polished and elaborate form, and has been praised as "simple and honest, and elegant". His two-volume poetry anthology is called the Qingzhen-ji or the Pianyu-ci. Zhou was a noted composer of tunes and lyrics, working in close association with the imperial Music Bureau, which presided over court music. He was a proficient musician, and set many of his own poems to music.
Reception
He became known as the "Patriarch of Ci Poets", and is listed along with Liu Yong, Xin Qiji and Jiang Kui as the "Four Great Ci Poets". His poetry served as a model for ci poets of later eras, with many imitators among the Southern Song literati. One example is the He Qingzhen-ci by Fang Qianli. Chen Yuanlong of the Southern Song composed a ten-volume commentary on his poetry entitled Pianyu-ji.
