wen siang was born in china in 1210 just before genghis khan invaded north china. he was nearly seventy when kublai khan overthrew the southern song dynasty and lived for another eight years.

china was a tumultuous place during his long life and he was many things, but for most of his life he was an exile from his home wandering through the land. he was a buddhist and his poetry shows his pacifist, meditative insights.