Shen Defu () (1578–1642) was a Chinese writer and bureaucrat during the

Ming Dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

. He lived in

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Jiang ...

. In 1618, he achieved the rank of ''

juren ''Juren'' (; 'recommended man') was a rank achieved by people who passed the ''xiangshi'' () exam in the imperial examination system of imperial China. The ''xiangshi'' is also known, in English, as the provincial examination. It was a rank high ...

'' in the Imperial examinations, but failed an exam for promotion to the rank of ''jinshi'' a year later. His principal work was the ''Wanli ye huo bian'' (Miscellaneous notes of

Wanli Wanli was the era name of the Chinese Ming dynasty. Wanli may also refer to: *Wanli Emperor (1563–1620), the 14th emperor of the Chinese Ming dynasty *Wanli District, Nanchang, district of Nanchang, Jiangxi, China *Wanli District, New Taipei, a ...

, ), which he completed in 1607. He was married for a time to the courtesan

Xue Susu Xue Susu (; also known as Xue Wu(薛五), Xuesu(薛素), Sujun among other pen names) (1564–1650? C.E.) was a Chinese courtesan. Known as one of the "Eight Great Courtesans of the Ming Dynasty", she was an accomplished painter and poet, and ...

References

{{Authority control Ming dynasty historians 1578 births 1642 deaths Historians from Beijing 17th-century Chinese historians