Kong Shangren

Also known as Kong Pingzhi · Kong Jizhong · Dongtang · Antang · Yunting Shanren

Kong Shangren, courtesy name Pinzhi, sobriquets Dongtang, Antang and Yunting shanren, from Qufu, a sixty-fourth-generation descendant of Confucius, was born in 1648, a Qing playwright and poet. An erudite of the Directorate of Education, he became a secretary in the Board of Revenue in 1694 and later vice director. His chuanqi play The Peach Blossom Fan follows Hou Fangyu and Li Xiangjun as the Southern Ming falls, using, in his words, partings and reunions to convey a dynasty's fall. He finished it in 1699 and is paired with Hong Sheng as South Hong and North Kong. He died in 1718.