Achievements Xu Ling was born in what is now Tancheng County, Linyi Prefecture-level city, of Shandong Province, China, and early in life achieved fame for poetry and literature. He has achieved lasting renown for his anthology New Songs from the Jade Terrace, which he compiled under the patronage of the Xiao Gang (503-551), first a prince, and who was then later known as Liang Jianwendi, after becoming Emperor of the Liang Dynasty, 549-551.