Yuan Zhen

Yuan Zhen, courtesy name Weizhi, lived from 779 to 831 and was a Chinese novelist, poet and politician of the middle Tang dynasty. In prose he is particularly known for Yingying's Biography, a tale often adapted for other treatments including operatic and musical ones. In poetry he is remembered for verses on exotic topics, for the inclusion of some poems in popular anthologies, and for belonging to the group of New Yuefu poets, who used poetry as a form of expression and protest. A native of Luoyang and a descendant of the Northern Wei imperial family, he lost his father at seven, began writing at fifteen, and moved in the literary circle of Bai Juyi. He was briefly chancellor under Emperor Muzong and in 813 wrote a grave inscription for Du Fu that contains some of the earliest known praise of that poet.