Ding Yaokang 1599-1669

Born into a family of officials in late Ming dynasty Shandong, Ding had limited success in the civil service examinations and held minor posts in the Qing (1644¡V1912) government. Much of Ding¡¦s poetry and drama expresses grief at the fall of the Ming and a Buddhist or Taoist wish to escape from the world. Many of his works were destroyed as a result of war and censorship. He is most famous for the novel Xu Jin Ping Mei Äòª÷²~±ö (Plum in the golden vase, a continuation) for which he was imprisoned in 1665 because of its eroticism and alleged anti-Qing bias.

         close