Feng Menglong (1574—1646) styled himself variedly as Youlong, Gongyu, Ziyou and Eryou. His nicknames were also great in number, namely Long Ziyou, Master of Mohan Lodge, Wu Xia Ci Nu (meaning “a great lover of Ci poems in Wu County”), Gusu Ci Nu (meaning “a great lover of Ci Poems in Gusu”), Qian Zhou Zhu Shi (meaning “Former Imperial Censor”), Gu Qu Shan Ren (meaning “an idle master of music and drama”) and Master of Lvtian Lodge. Feng was a native of Changzhou, Suzhou (today’s Suzhou in Jiangsu Province). Highly talented in his youth, Feng, together with his elder brother Feng Menggui, a painter and younger brother Feng Mengxiong, a poet, was referred to as one of the “Three Fengs in Wu County”. In the 3rd year of Emperor Chongzhen’s reign in the Ming Dynasty (1630), Feng became a scholar recommended by the local government to the imperial court, and was assigned to be the official in charge of education in the Prefecture of Dantu. The 7th year of the same period witnessed his taking office as magistrate of Shouning County in Fujian. Feng once remonstrated to the emperor on the causes of the country’s decline. Upon the expiration of his four-year term, Feng returned to his hometown and lived in seclusion. At the beginning of Emperor Shunzhi’s reign, Feng finished Zhong Xing Wei Lue (Great Strategies for State Rejuvenation) which contained a record of the acting governance by Emperor Zhu Yujian in Fuzhou during the Southern Ming Dynasty. He also vigorously engaged himself in the anti-Qing campaign and died with concerns and indignity (Rumor has it that he was actually killed by Manchu soldiers.). The man devoted his life time to the creation and compiling efforts of such popular literary forms as drama, fiction and folk songs. His contributions in these fields were undeniably significant. Feng compiled and edited collections of vernacular novels, including Yu Shi Ming Yan (Stories to Make the World Wise, whose original title was Stories Old and New), Jing Shi Tong Yan (Stories to Caution the World) and Xing Shi Heng Yan (Stories to Enlighten the World). The three books, commonly known as the “Three Story Collections”, proved to be the most significant achievement of story-telling scripts in the Ming Dynasty and a treasure house of fiction in vernacular Chinese in ancient China as well. Feng’s collections of folk songs included Gua Zhi Er (meaning “hanging from the branch”, the name for a type of tune) and Shan Ge (meaning “folk songs sung in the countryside”). Besides, he wrote Taiping Guang Ji Chao (meaning “selections from the grand gleanings of the Taiping period”) and wrote such collections of sketchbook stories as Gu Jin Tan Gai (Talks Old and New), Zhi Nang (Think Tank) and Qing Shi (A History of Love). The writer also made supplement and enlargement to the novel Xin Ping Yao Zhuan (New Stories of Eliminating Evil Spirits) and revised Xin Lie Guo Zhi (Annals of the Kingdoms: A New Version). In terms of Qu Ben (meaning “tune scripts”), Feng not only polished and finalized Jing Zhong Qi (A Flag of Supreme Loyalty) and Jiu Jia Yong (The Bartender), etc. but also compiled a San Qu collection titled Tai Xia Xin Zou (New Tones of Rosy Lofty Clouds). His romance novels Shuang Xiong Ji (A Tale of Two Heroes) and Wan Shi Zu (All Goes Well), the two of which were commonly known as Mohan Zhai Ding Ben Chuan Qi (meaning “the final draft of romances completed at Mohan Lodge”). Mohan Zhai Ci Pu (meaning “a collection of Ci poem tunes compiled at Mohan Lodge”) was another tune script collection completed by Feng. His poems and essays were collected in such collections as Qile Zhai Shi Gao (Poems Written at Qile Lodge) and Great Strategies for State Rejuvenation. Boldly breaking with traditional ideas, Feng Menglong attached great importance to the genuine feelings and educative value of popular literature. Many of his works embodied and reflected feelings and moral code of the citizen stratum. Therefore, with a distinct touch of vernacular literature, they presented the temper of times featuring the shattering of feudal ethical codes and pursuit of individual liberty as well as the social atmosphere characteristic of the age when capitalism sprouted. Thus, Feng was an undeniably important figure in the history of Chinese literature.
