Song Chaonan

• Song Chaonan, courtesy name Yufan and sobriquet Zhuo’an, was a native of East Street of the county seat of Longxi and a descendant of Song Cong, who served as Minister of the Court of Imperial Stud (Taipu Si Qing) during the Ming dynasty. His family had, for generations, upheld poetry and classical learning as their tradition. Song Cong held important posts in the Ming court and was renowned for his integrity and upright character, a family ethos that deeply influenced Song Chaonan’s upbringing. From an early age, Song Chaonan studied diligently and read widely. In the Wuchen year of the Kangxi reign (1688), he passed the jinshi examination with outstanding results and was selected as a Shujishi of the Hanlin Academy, thereby embarking on his official career.