周清原

Zhou Qingyuan is an author in the field of classical Chinese literature about whose life little is publicly documented: his native place, dates of birth and death, and English name are all unrecorded, and seven of his works are held in the collection. Judging from the works available, his writing centers on short vernacular stories set around West Lake. The divided volumes of Xihu Erji (Second Collection of West Lake Stories) and Xihu Chuanqi Ji (Tales of West Lake) all revolve around legends, anecdotes, and tales of everyday life from the West Lake area. Another edition of Xihu Erji appears in a series of banned classical Chinese novels, suggesting that the work was at times regarded as having been suppressed. His prose generally follows the classical vernacular style, balancing the fabulous with the flavor of ordinary urban life. His works are commonly classed as classics and classical literature, and also touch on ancient poetry. Because reliable biographical information is lacking, Zhou Qingyuan as a person remains difficult to describe in detail; his literary profile emerges mainly through the West Lake story collections.