Sòng Zhīwèn 宋之問 (656–712, zì Yánqīng 延清, also Shàolián 少連), of Fénzhōu Lóngmén 汾州龍門 (modern Shānxī Héjīn; some sources give Hóngnóng). One of the great early-Táng court poets of the WǔHòu / Zhōngzōng / Ruìzōng / early Xuánzōng transition, paired with Shěn Quánqī 沈佺期 in the canonical ShěnSòng 沈宋 partnership that perfected the jìntǐ (regulated verse) form — particularly the qīlǜ (seven-character regulated verse). Yán Yǔ’s Sòng-period Cānglàng shīhuà singled out ShěnSòng as the codifiers of the form.
Sòng’s career was politically catastrophic: a Tàixué student under WǔHòu; jìnshì of Shàngyuán 2 (675); courtier of Empress Wǔ Zétiān, then her sons Zhōngzōng and Ruìzōng; multiple banishments for political alignments and personal enmities (including his association with the Zhāng brothers, Wǔ’s favorites); finally executed in Xiāntiān 1 (712) under Xuánzōng on charges of having served the emperor’s enemies. Despite his moral disgrace, his technical mastery of lǜshī made him canonical: the couplet jìnxiāng qíng gèng qiè / bù gǎn wèn lái rén (from Dù Hànjiāng) is among the most-anthologized early-Táng lines.
Principal work in the corpus: Sòng Zhīwèn jí KR4c0093 (SBCK 二編 reprint, 2 juǎn). CBDB id 31560 gives 656–712. The placement in KR4c (alongside WǎnTáng and Wǔdài authors) is anomalous and reflects the SBCK 二編’s internal order rather than chronological logic.