jin shi 756 Yan Feng

Active in the 8th century during the Tang dynasty, Feng Yan (封演) is known mainly through his book Fengshi wenjian ji (Master Feng's Records of Hearsay and Personal Experience). Surviving reference works agree that not much is known about his life in detail, but they place him among the educated officials of his day.

Sources on his career say he studied at the National University, earned the jinshi degree in 756, and later served in a series of official posts. Records also connect him with military governors in the years after the An Lushan Rebellion, before he rose to higher offices later in life.

What keeps his name alive is the book itself: a rich miscellany of historical notes, social customs, religious practices, scholarly habits, and everyday observations from the Tang world. For modern listeners, it offers something especially appealing—a learned but vivid window into how people thought, argued, and lived more than a thousand years ago.