active 16th century-17th century Yingyu Zhang

Zhang Yingyu was a Chinese writer of the late Ming period, generally described as flourishing in the early 17th century, during the Wanli reign. Modern sources usually date him as active around 1612–1617 rather than giving firm birth and death years, which suggests that only limited biographical information about his life survives.

He is known above all for The Book of Swindles (Dupian xinshu), a collection of stories about scams, deception, and social cunning that was published around 1617 in Fujian. In these tales, swindlers, merchants, monks, fortune-tellers, and officials move through a busy world where wit can be both a weapon and a warning, and Zhang often adds commentary that draws out a moral lesson.

That mix of vivid storytelling and practical caution is part of what makes his writing feel so fresh today. Even with so little known about the man himself, his work remains valuable as both literature and a revealing portrait of everyday anxieties, humor, and human behavior in the late Ming dynasty.