active 17th century-18th century Yuanhuyanshuisanren

Known by the literary name Yuanhuyanshuisanren, or 鸳湖烟水散人, this author is listed by Project Gutenberg as an active writer of the 17th to 18th century. The same source also records several alternate names, including Xu Zhen, Xu Qiutao, and other variant pen names, which suggests a figure whose identity was transmitted through different editions and catalog traditions rather than through a firmly documented personal biography.

A Baidu Baike entry on Nü Caizi Shu identifies 鸳湖烟水散人 as the author and says the collection was completed in 1658, with a preface dated 1659, placing the writer in the early Qing period. That work is described as a collection of short classical Chinese tales about gifted and memorable women, written in an accessible literary style and blending commentary with storytelling.

Project Gutenberg currently attributes Hepu Zhu and Zhenzhu Bo to this author. Taken together with Nü Caizi Shu, these surviving attributions point to a writer associated with fiction that mixes romance, moral reflection, and popular narrative appeal. Because reliable biographical details are scarce, the author is best understood through the works themselves and the rich literary world they represent.