active 150 B.C. Ying Han

Han Ying was an early Former Han scholar, usually placed in the late 2nd century BCE. He was known as an expert on the Shijing—the Book of Songs or Book of Odes—and is associated with one of the major Han-era interpretive traditions built around that classic.

The work most closely tied to him is the Hanshi waizhuan (Outer Commentary on the Odes), a collection of anecdotes, sayings, and moral reflections connected to lines from the Book of Songs. Traditional sources also credit him with other writings, including an inner commentary, but these are largely lost.

For modern readers, Han Ying matters because his writing shows that ancient Chinese poetry was not treated as literature alone. In his hands, it became a guide to character, politics, and everyday conduct, which helps explain why his work remained valuable to later readers and scholars.