Writers › Writer / Poet
Shen Jiji
Pioneering Tang Dynasty fiction writer and court historian (c. 750–800 CE), created 'The World Inside a Pillow' and the immortal motif of the Golden Millet Dream.
In a study at night, a desk holds a brush pot, a porcelain vase with a plum branch, a lit red lantern, a folded fan and an unrolled blank scroll, with no one seated there, while through a round window the moon rises over a lake with a sailboat.
Also known as Shen Shiyi
Shen Jiji (c. 750–800 CE) was a foundational writer of Tang Dynasty chuanqi fiction and court historian. His masterpiece 'The World Inside a Pillow' (Zhen Zhong Ji) crafted the philosophical fable of the 'Golden Millet Dream', while 'The Story of Miss Ren' (Ren Shi Zhuan) pioneered compassionate supernatural romance in Chinese literature.
Life and times
Dates c. 750–800 CE