The first seven sons mainly refer to:

In the Ming Dynasty, there appeared "seven sons" headed by Li Mengyang, He Jingming, Li Panlong and Wang Shizhen. Fourteen scholars are called "Seven Scholars", flaunting the so-called "retro" and putting forward the slogan that "literature must be in Qin and Han Dynasties, and poetry must flourish in Tang Dynasty". This retro style is an imitation of ancient times. This group of writers, with their youthful vitality, rose up against the pedantic eight-part essay that stifled the literati's thoughts and the cabinet style that was more elegant, upright and less angry. However, the purpose of revitalizing prose poems by the former and the latter seven poets was not achieved for two reasons: first, they used simulation as their creative method, and their works lacked original spirit and style; Second, the former and the latter seven sons either flaunt each other or crowd out each other and dominate the literary world. Scholars who live a clean life are disgusted and discouraged.