active 502-519 Rong Zhong

Zhong Rong was a Chinese literary critic active during the early sixth century, traditionally associated with the Southern Dynasties period. He is remembered primarily for Shipin—also known as The Categorized Criticism of Poetry—one of the earliest systematic works of Chinese poetry criticism.

In Shipin, he assessed more than one hundred poets, grouping them into three grades and commenting on their language, themes, and artistic achievement. His judgments became an important reference point in the development of classical Chinese literary theory.