Luo Zongqiang

Luo Zongqiang (1931–2020) was a native of Jieyang, Guangdong, and a professor and doctoral supervisor at Nankai University. A renowned scholar of classical Chinese literature, he pioneered the research methods and disciplinary direction of the history of Chinese literary thought, an approach known in academic circles as the "Nankai school." His work spans the Wei-Jin and Northern-Southern Dynasties, the Sui-Tang and Five Dynasties, and the late Ming, tracing the historical development of literary thought while attending to the interplay between scholars' mentalities and literary ideas. His History of Literary Thought in the Wei-Jin and Northern-Southern Dynasties and History of Literary Thought in the Sui-Tang and Five Dynasties display rigorous documentary scholarship, while The Mentality of Scholars in the Late Ming turns to the inner lives of writers and the ethos of their age. His other works include A History of Literary Thought in the Ming Dynasty, A Brief History of Tang Poetry, Notes on Reading The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons, Collected Works from the Yinyuan Studio, and On Li Bai and Du Fu. Combining historical perspective with close literary reading, his writings have influenced both historical reading and classic works.