Mao Jian was a Song dynasty ci poet whose life is now difficult to trace in detail; public records are limited, and his native place, dates of birth and death, and official career are all absent from the available sources, so only his surviving works can be briefly described. According to extant information, Mao Jian left a collection titled Qiaoyin Ci, and two works by him are held in the database, which in fact represent duplicate records of the same collection. The book belongs to the classics of ancient poetry, consisting mainly of ci compositions whose themes often involve everyday feelings and the singing of scenes, written in clear and graceful language and close in style to the delicate, restrained manner of Song ci. Because biographical clues about the author are scarce, discussion of Mao Jian and his poetry has never been extensive; scholars generally begin with the text of Qiaoyin Ci itself, examining its choice of tunes, sentence patterns, and emotional expression in order to glimpse the creative profile of a minor Song poet. Overall, Mao Jian is not a widely known master, but his collection offers a useful sample for studying the diverse ecology of Song ci and has some documentary and reading value.
