Liang Chen

Chen Liang (1143–1194), also known by his style name Tongfu and literary name Longchuan, was a Southern Song thinker, political writer, and ci poet from Yongkang in present-day Zhejiang. He is regarded as the leading figure of the Yongkang school, which emphasized practical learning and the use of knowledge to address real political and social problems.

Deeply concerned by the Song dynasty’s weakness and the loss of northern China, Chen argued for active government, military preparedness, and resistance to the Jin dynasty. His surviving writings, including essays, historical works, and poetry, combine forceful argument with an energetic literary style; later readers often remembered him alongside his friend and fellow patriot, the poet Xin Qiji.