Writers › Writer / Poet
Jin Shengtan (Master Sheng-tan)
Foremost literary critic of the Ming-Qing transition (1608–1661 CE), famed for critical commentaries on the 'Six Works of Genius' including Water Margin and Western Chamber.
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 Jin Renrui · Master Shengtan · Le'an
Jin Shengtan (1608–1661 CE), name Jin Renrui, was an extraordinary literary theorist and aesthetic critic of the Ming-Qing transition. He canonized vernacular drama and fiction alongside classical scriptures in his 'Six Works of Genius' commentaries, revolutionizing classical Chinese literary criticism through incisive structural analysis.
Life and times
Ming
QingWorks
Literature · Sayings2- A Hundred and Eight Characters, Each Unlike the RestMingLine from Jin Shengtan's reading notes on the Water Margin: 108 heroes, 108 natures
- No Joy Greater Than Reading: Jin Shengtan and the West ChamberQingLine from Jin Shengtan's preface to the West Chamber: reading is life's highest joy
- Literature · Criticism1
- On Reading the Fifth Book of Genius · Water Margin PrefaceMingJin Shengtan's reading guide to his Water Margin edition: its 108 characters and techniques