Liu Ji (Liu Chi) 1311-1375

Liu is considered one of the two leading poets of the early Ming (the other being Gao Qi), although he came to maturity long before the founding of the dynasty. He was born in present-day Zhejiang province and passed the jinshi examination in 1333 in the Mongol Yuan dynasty . He then served in minor provincial posts for ten years before a lengthy period of travelling and writing, which included a post as advisor to a Mongol general (although he was very critical of the Mongol regime in his essays). He was a prolific and stylish writer of prose, and large quantities of his poems are also still extant. In both genres, his admiration for antiquity is clear.

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