JIN RENRUI (1608-61)

Also known as Jin Shengtan, Jin Renrui was a well-known literary critic who came from Wuxian (Suzhou). He was considered at an early age to be a talented scholar, though he was raised in poverty, and even when he had more money as an adult was known for his profligate spending, which kept returning him to poverty. He wrote commentaries on what he called The Six Books for Talented Scholars (Chu Yuan's Li Sao, The Zhuangzi text, the Book of Historical Records, Du Fu's poetry, Water Margin, and The Romance of the West Chamber), and was an anthologist and essayist. He was an outspoken critic of the government at a time when the Manchus were taking over more and more of China, when poverty, theft and banditry were rampant. On August 7th of 1661, he was executed for political reasons (as part of a crackdown on dissidence by a corrupt magistrate and governor who had used cruel measures to collect taxes). He was cut in half at the waist, and it was said that before he died he used his own blood to write out a few Chinese characters that were an expression of misery, tragedy and cruelty. This event was reported to the Emperor, who was moved enough to ban this form of execution.
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Spending the Night in a Temple in the Wilds

All sounds gradually fade off.
Insects hover over Buddha's face.
The window half-closes out night rain.
On the four walls, monk gowns hang.

        ---Translated by Tony Barnstone and Chou Ping