Ding Xuan

Born in 1832 in Tianchang, Anhui, Ding Xuan, better known in Chinese sources as Xuan Ding, was remembered not just as a novelist but also as a dramatist, poet, and painter. He wrote under several style names, including Zi Jiu and Su Mei, and his life seems to have moved far from comfort: after an easier early childhood, his family fell into hardship, and he spent years trying to support a large household.

That unsettled life shaped his work. During and after the upheavals of the Taiping era, he lived by taking a range of jobs, including military service, clerical work, teaching, selling calligraphy, and selling paintings in places such as Yanzhou and Jining in Shandong. Those experiences gave his writing a grounded, human texture even when his stories turned uncanny or supernatural.

He is best known for beginning Yeyu Qiudeng Lu in 1872, a collection that helped secure his reputation in late Qing literature. The surviving source material confirms that he died in 1880. I could not confirm a suitable verified portrait image from the pages I checked, so no profile image is included here.