Eminent Chinese of the Ch'ing Period/Liang P'ei-lan
LIANG P'ei-lan 梁佩蘭 (T. 芝五, H. 樂亭), 1632–1708, poet and calligrapher, was a native of Nan-hai, Kwangtung. Although he obtained the chü-jên degree with highest honors in 1657, he did not succeed in taking his chin-shih until 1688, thirty-one years later. His official career was uneventful, but he achieved distinction as a poet. He formed in his native place a society of poets known as the Lan-hu shê 蘭湖社. This group comprised, in addition to himself, six other poets of Kwangtung province—Ch'ên Kung-yin [q. v.], Ch'êng K'o-tsê 程可則 (T. 周量, 湟湊, H. 石臞, chin-shih of 1652), Wang Pang-chi 王邦畿 (T. 誠籥, chü-jên of 1645), Fang Tien-yüan 方殿元 (T. 蒙章, H. 九谷, chin-shih of 1664), and the latter's two sons, Fang Huan 方還 (T. 蓂朔) and Fang Chao 方朝 (T. 東華, H. 寄亭)—who came to be known as the "Seven Poets of Lingnan" (嶺南七子). Liang P'ei-lan's poetry was highly praised by contemporary men of letters such as Wang Shih-chên, Chu I-tsun, and P'an Lei [qq. v.]. At other times his name was associated with Ch'ên Kung-yin and Ch'ü Ta-chün [q. v.], and these were referred to collectively as the "Three Great Masters of Lingnan". An anthology of their verse, entitled 嶺南三大家詩選 Ling-nan san-ta-chia shih-hsüan, was compiled by Wang Chun 王隼 (T. 蒲衣), a son of the above-mentioned Wang Pang-chi. In this anthology the poetry of Liang P'ei-lan, entitled 六瑩堂詩 Liu-ying-t'ang shih, occupies 8 chüan. Another collection of his verse, arranged by Wang Kuan 汪觀, under the title 樂亭詩集 Yao-t'ing shih chi, in 2 chüan, is given notice in the Imperial Catalogue (see under Chi Yün).
[2/71/16b; 3/121/27a; 26/1/40b; Nan-hai-hsien chih (1835), 39/7a; Ssŭ-k'u, 183/12b.]