Song Wan (1614-1673), a famous poet of the early Qing Dynasty and one of the Eight Great Poets of the Qing Dynasty, with the courtesy name Yushu and the literary name Lishang, was a Han Chinese from Laiyang, Shandong. Born in the 42nd year of the Ming Dynasty’s Wanli reign (1614), he passed the imperial examination in the 4th year of the Qing Dynasty’s Shunzhi reign (1647). He served as the head of the Henan Department of the Ministry of Revenue, the head of the Inspection and Merit Department of the Ministry of Personnel, the deputy head of the Longxi Right Road, and the Left Councillor. In the 11th year of the Kangxi reign (1672), he was appointed as the Chief Inspector of the Sichuan Inspection Department under the General Councilor; The following year, he went to Beijing to report on his work, coinciding with the Wu Sangui Rebellion, which resulted in the death of his family members. He became anxious and became ill, and died of illness in Kyoto at the age of 59.
宋琬（1614-1673），清初著名诗人，清八大诗家之一，字玉叔，号荔裳，汉族，山东莱阳人。生于明万历四十二年（1614），清顺治四年（1647）进士，曾任户部河南司主事、吏部稽勋司主事、陇西右道佥事、左参政，康熙十一年（1672），授通议大夫四川按察使司按察使；翌年，进京述职，适逢吴三桂兵变，家属遇难，忧愤成疾，病死京都，时年59岁。
宋琬·《狱中八咏·芦席片》
愁心不可卷，假寐聊相资。
莫厌籧篨贱，犹能出范雎。
Songs Composed in Prison I
A Piece of Rush Matting
Sung Wan
A grieving heart can’t be rolled up like a mat;
This mat is good enough for a brief nap.
Don’t be disgusted because it is cheap,
For it could still produce a Fan Sui.（1）
（1）. Fan Sui (fl. 3rrd century B.C.) rose to high office in the state of Ch’in after he had been beaten and thrown into a toilet when taken for dead.
（William Schultz 译）
