The dominant literary figure of the late Yuán southeast. Surname Yáng; given name written variously as 維楨 or 維禎 (the Sìkù preferred 維禎; the SBCK preserves 維楨); style-name Liánfū 廉夫; sobriquets Tiěyá 鐵崖 (“Iron Cliff”, from his early teacher’s “iron cliff” tower in his hometown), Tiědí dàorén 鐵笛道人 (“Iron-Flute Daoist”), Dōngwéi zǐ 東維子 (“Master of the Eastern Hinge”). Born in Guǐsì 癸巳 of the Yuán Dàdé era (1296) at Zhūjì 諸暨 (Kuàijī, modern Zhèjiāng). He passed the Yuán Tàidìng 4 (1327) jìnshì; held various posts including Hángzhōu lù sīzhèng, Tiāntái yǐn, Jiànchá yùshǐ, Jiāngnán xíngshūmìyuàn jīnglì. He resigned in the late Zhìzhèng era and spent the last decades of his life in retirement at Sōngjiāng (Huátíng), where he led the Tiěyá yuèfǔ 鐵崖樂府 movement — the dominant poetic school of the late Yuán. In Hóngwǔ 2 (1369) the Míng Tàizǔ summoned him to assist with the Yuán shǐ and ritual-book compilations; he came to court, served briefly, and refused permanent office, returning home and dying in Hóngwǔ 3 (1370). His participation in the Míng Yuán shǐ project is the basis for his complicated yílǎo status — the Sìkù compilers place him in the intermediate moral rank one below Dīng Hènián 丁鶴年 (KR4d0557) and one above those who took Míng office for advancement.
Major collections in the SKQS: Dōngwéi zǐ jí 東維子集 (KR4d0585); Tiěyá gǔ yuèfǔ 鐵崖古樂府 (KR4d0586); Fùgǔ shī jí 復古詩集 (KR4d0587); Lìzé yíyīn 麗則遺音 (KR4d0589). The CBDB record (id 12087) writes the name 楊維禎 and gives 1296–1370.
His literary circle is the principal node of late-Yuán Wúzhōng literary culture: he is named or addressed in most of the late-Yuán Wúzhōng biéjí in this batch — including KR4d0548 (Guō Yì), KR4d0561 (Xiè Yìngfāng), KR4d0573 (Yáng Hé), KR4d0578 (Lǚ Chéng), KR4d0574 (Gù Yīng’s Yùshān), KR4d0575 KR4d0576 (Ní Zàn), and KR4d0569 (Dài Liáng).