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

Ming Dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

. He lived in

Zhejiang ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = ( Hangzhounese) ( Ningbonese) (Wenzhounese) , image_skyline = 玉甑峰全貌 - panoramio.jpg , image_caption = View of the Yandang Mountains , image_map = Zhejiang i ...

. 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 The imperial examination was a civil service examination system in Imperial China administered for the purpose of selecting candidates for the state bureaucracy. The concept of choosing bureaucrats by merit rather than by birth started early i ...

, but failed an exam for promotion to the rank of ''jinshi'' a year later. His principal work was the ''Wanli ye huo bian'' (Unofficial Gleanings of the Wanli Era, ), which he completed in 1607. Perhaps because he failed to move beyond the rank of provincial office, in this text he inveighs again the excesses of imperial office holders, including extravagant dress. He was married for several years to the

courtesan A courtesan is a prostitute with a courtly, wealthy, or upper-class clientele. Historically, the term referred to a courtier, a person who attended the court of a monarch or other powerful person. History In European feudal society, the co ...

Xue Susu.

References

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