Shu Wei was a Qing-dynasty poet whose life and native place are poorly documented, and whose birth and death years can no longer be reliably established. Only one work survives under his name, the Zhuzhi Ci on the Miao of Guizhou. Written in the zhuzhi ci form, this set of poems sings of the landscapes, customs, and daily life of the Miao people in Guizhou. The language is fresh and natural, carrying the rhythm and feeling of folk song, and the work has value both as local record and as a description of customs. The zhuzhi ci originated as a folk song form in the Ba-Yu region and, through imitation by literati, became a poetic vehicle for recording local conditions and customs. Shu Wei used this form to portray the life of a borderland people, preserving the plain, accessible character of the zhuzhi ci while leaving later readers a vivid textual picture of Miao society in Qing-era Guizhou. Because sources are scarce, his life and literary circle await further study; his main known contribution is this set of zhuzhi ci, significant in both folkloric and literary terms.
