Zhang Fengyi was a playwright of the Ming dynasty. Public information about his life is limited: his birth and death years, native place, and official career are all unknown. Three of his works are included in this collection: Hongfu Ji (The Story of the Red Whisk) and Guanyuan Ji (The Story of tending the garden), both collected in the Sixty Plays anthology, as well as Tan Lu. Hongfu Ji draws on the Tang dynasty tale of the bearded stranger and the maid with the red whisk, with a twisting plot and vivid characters, and is one of the more widely circulated Ming chuanqi plays. Guanyuan Ji dramatizes the deeds of historical figures and conveys moral instruction. Tan Lu, classified under Eastern philosophy and social studies, appears to contain discussion and observations. Overall, Zhang Fengyi's writing is chiefly dramatic, with some miscellaneous prose; his language blends elegance and popular appeal, and he was skilled at arranging scenes and portraying characters within the chuanqi form, exerting some influence on later adaptation and performance. Because surviving sources are scattered, details of his life and the full scope of his works remain to be further investigated.
