author
Da Yu
d. 1884
Known mainly for the late Qing novel Qing Lou Meng, this elusive writer is remembered more through the book than through a well-documented life. The surviving record suggests a Jiangsu connection and a talent for vivid, socially observant fiction.
1 Audiobook
青樓夢
by Da Yu
About the author
Very little biographical information about this author is easy to confirm. Library and public-domain catalog records identify the writer as Yu Da (俞達, d. 1884), and associate the name with the novel Qing Lou Meng.
That novel is generally described as a late Qing work of Chinese fiction. Catalog and edition notes linked to the text indicate that it was completed in 1878, and one modern listing describes Yu Da as also being known as Yinxiang and as coming from Jiangsu. Because these details are not widely documented across major reference sources, they should be read as probable rather than certain.
What stands out most is the novel itself: a long, emotionally charged story set in the world of courtesans and scholars, with an eye for romance, ambition, and social pressure. Even with so little securely known about the person behind it, the work has lasted well enough to remain available in modern digital editions, which is often the clearest sign that an author left a real mark.