Ruan Dacheng (c. 1587–1646) was a Chinese dramatist, poet and official of the Ming dynasty and the Southern Ming dynasty. His daughter, Ruan Lizhen, was also a dramatist.

Ruan Dacheng
阮大鋮
Grand Secretariat of the Eastern Hall
In office
1645
MonarchZhu Yousong
Minister of War
In office
1645
MonarchZhu Yousong
Preceded byLian Guoshi
Succeeded byZhang Kentang
Minister of War in Southern Capital
In office
1645
MonarchZhu Yousong
Preceded byLian Guoshi
Succeeded byShao Fuzhong
Personal details
Born1587
Tongcheng, Ming China
Died1646(1646-00-00) (aged 58–59)
Jiangshan, Qing China
Occupationmandarin, dramatists and playwrights
Ruan Dacheng
Traditional Chinese阮大鋮
Simplified Chinese阮大铖
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinRuǎn Dàchéng
Wade–GilesJuan Ta-Ch'eng

Ruan grew up in Huaining County, Anqing. He became a jinshi in 1616 and began a career as an official. Ruan aligned himself with the faction of the eunuch Wei Zhongxian and, after Wei fell from favour and committed suicide, was removed from office. He then retired to live as a hermit and it is believed that most of his literary production was undertaken during this time.

In 1644, after the fall of Beijing to the Qing dynasty, he became an official of the Southern Ming through the influence of his close friend Ma Shiying. In 1645, he surrendered to the Qing dynasty.[1][2]

After his death, he was reviled as a traitor and he is a villain in Kong Shangren's The Peach Blossom Fan.[3]

He was a patron of the garden designer Ji Cheng.

References

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  1. ^ Berg, Daria (2007). Reading China [electronic resource]: fiction, history and the dynamics of discourse : essays in honour of professor Glen Dudbridge. BRILL. p. 111. ISBN 978-9004154834.
  2. ^ JR, FREDERIC WAKEMAN (1985). The Great Enterprise: The Manchu Reconstruction of Imperial Order in Seventeenth-century China. University of California Press. p. 721. ISBN 9780520048041.
  3. ^ Gernet, Jacques (1996). A History of Chinese Civilization. Cambridge University Press. pp. 448. ISBN 9780521497817.