Emperor Wu of Liang.
The "Thousand Character Essay" was compiled during the reign of Emperor Wu of Liang Dynasty. Because he liked the calligraphy works of the "Sage of Calligraphy" Wang Xizhi, he ordered Qi Shilang and Zhou Xingsi to compile it from Wang Xizhi's calligraphy works. To form a rhyme consisting of a thousand Chinese characters, it must rhyme but not repeat a single word.
Therefore, the original name of this article was originally called "Ciyun Wang Xi's Book of Thousand Characters", but was later simplified to "Thousand Character Essay".
Zhou Xingsi (469-521), named Si Zuan, lived in Gushe, Jiangnan (now a native of Dangtu, Anhui). He was a famous historian in the Southern Dynasty, erudite and good at writing. During the reign of Emperor Wu of Liang Dynasty, he became the minister of Ancheng Kingdom. He was an important minister under Emperor Wu of Liang in the Liang Kingdom of the Southern Dynasties, and often drafted various articles for Emperor Wu.
Then why is this article called a thousand-word "article"? That's because in the Southern and Northern Dynasties before the Sui and Tang Dynasties, and even before that, text passages that did not rhyme or contrast were not called "wen" but "bi". This was the conventional name of the ancient literati at that time.
"The Thousand Character Essay" consists of four parts. The first part tells about the natural phenomena of the sun, moon and stars and some early human history; the second part tells about people's filial piety, integrity and other standards of cultivation; the third part Describing the importance of great rivers, mountains and talents, the fourth part is about the tranquil pastoral life of ordinary people, praising the beauty and warmth of "fireworks on earth".
In terms of content, "The Thousand Character Essay" integrates various astronomical, geographical, humanistic and historical knowledge, and has a unified thought throughout the text. The context is clear, the language is concise, the writing is brilliant and colorful, and it is easy to read. Catchy.