Qu You


Qu You, courtesy name Zongji and self-nicknamed Cunzhai, was a Chinese novelist who lived in the Ming dynasty, and whose works inspired a new genre fantasy works with political subtext of the Qing dynasty.
Born in Qiantang, Qu You was famous as an adolescent poet. He became a teacher-official in Lin'an, then promoted to be the Head of Secretary of the Zhou Kingdom. But at the height of his career, he was jailed for ten years.
After his release in 1425, he worked as a tutor in the household of Lord of Ying State. He was reinstated as an official, but he resigned shortly, never returning to the world of politics again, in action. His works, though entertaining, have undertone that expresses concerns and discontent that he had with politics of the Ming Empire.

Works