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Eastern Han scholar whose Fengsu Tongyi examined customs and lore and preserved the tale behind 'a bow's reflection taken for a snake'.
In an archive hall, tall wooden shelves hold scrolls and bound books with small tags, and one person climbs a ladder with their back turned; a long table in front holds an unrolled river map, a bronze lamp and a copper jug, with a city wall seen through the window.
Also known as Zi Zhongyuan
Ying Shao, courtesy name Zhongyuan, from Nandun in Runan, was recommended as filial and incorrupt under Emperor Ling and became Grand Administrator of Taishan in 189; he later joined Yuan Shao and died at Ye. A learned scholar, he wrote the Fengsu Tongyi on customs, names and popular beliefs, as well as the Han Guanyi on Han institutions. The idiom 'a bow's reflection taken for a snake' comes from the Fengsu Tongyi.
Hanactive under Emperors Ling and Xian of Eastern Han (c. 168–204 CE)
Literature · Prose12Literature · Fables1Literature · Sayings1Ying Shao was recommended as filial and incorrupt in the reign of Emperor Ling and was summoned by the General of Chariots and Cavalry He Miao to serve as a clerk in his office. He was later appointed governor of Taishan, then left his post to join Yuan Shao, governor of Jizhou, and died at Ye.
Ying Shao wrote the Fengsu Tong to distinguish kinds and names of things and to resolve doubts about popular custom. He also revised the statutes into the Han Yi, presented in the first year of Jian'an, and compiled a collected commentary on the Hanshu. These works circulated in his own time.