Eminent Chinese of the Ch'ing Period/Wu Wên
WU Wên 吳雯 (T. 天章, H. 蓮洋 and 玉澗子), 1644–1704, June 28, poet and calligrapher, was a native of P'u-chou, Shansi. His father, Wu Yün-shêng 吳允升 (changed later to Wu Lai-hêng 吳萊亨, T. 于公 and 康侯, d. 1656), was a native of Liao-yang, Feng-t'ien, and a chin-shih of 1655. The father had held since 1649 the post of director of studies in P'u-chou and after his death the family, being poor, continued to live there. Wu Wên was a pupil of the celebrated Shantung poet, Wang Shih-chên [q. v.], who not only praised his verses highly but, after the poet's death, edited a collection of them with comments. He travelled extensively and read widely in many fields, especially in Buddhist literature, the influence of which is traceable in his poetry. He was recommended and summoned to take the special examination known as po-hsüeh hung-tz'ŭ in 1679 (see under P'êng Sun-yü), but failed to pass. Three editions of his collected poems appeared during his lifetime. The most complete one, entitled 蓮洋集 Lien-yang chi, in 20 chüan, was printed in 1774.
[2/71/10a; 3/430/30a; 4/138/16b; 32/6/10b; P'u-chou-fu chih (1755) 13/31b; chronological biography by Wêng Fang-kang [q. v.], entitled Lien-yang Wu chêng-chün nien-p'u, with portrait, in Lien-yang chi of 1774; Ssŭ-k'u 173/7a; 183/8a.]