Career
Shen Quanqi is especially known for his work in developing and perfecting the regulated verse form of Classical Chinese poetry. Shen"s poetry ranges from the elegant court style of the poetry which he wrote while at court and the intensely anguished poems which he wrote during his years of exile, in the extreme south of the empire. He was born in the prefecture of Neihuang in the province of Xiangzhou, which is known today as the province of Henan.
In 675, Shen Quanqi obtained a magistrate degree.
He then served several positions as a scholar at the imperial court, and was appointed by the government official Zhang Yizhi. However, the Wuzhou Dynasty was overthrown, and Zhang Yizhi was executed.
Shen Quanqi was arrested and imprisoned on charges of bribery and corruption. He was then released, but sent in exile to Huanzhou, which is known today as Hoan Châu in Vietnam.
In 706, he was pardoned, and recalled to resume his duties at the imperial court, where he eventually worked up to the position of imperial diarist and then grand secretary.
