Gao Lian 高濂

Gao Lian 高濂, courtesy name Gao Shenfu 高深甫, style Ruinan 瑞南, was a Ming period 明 (1368-1644) writer and book collector. He came from Qiantang 錢塘 (modern Hangzhou 杭州, Zhejiang) and from his youth write theatre plays, poems and novellas. The most famous of his plays are Jiexiaoji 節孝記 and Yuzuanji 玉簪記. Besides, Gao Lian was a book collector whose library was called Shangman Hall 山滿樓 and was to be found at the Kuahong Bridge 跨虹橋 in Hangzhou. It included writings of all different genres, from the Confucian Classics and historiographical writings to poetry and stories. Gao Lian published some catalogues about his collection, namely Miaoshanglou cangshu 妙賞樓藏書 and Gaoshi jianding Song keban shu 高氏鑒定宋刻板書. His most important own writing is the encyclopaedia on the necessities of daily life Zunsheng bajian 尊生八箋, for which he relied a lot on the books found in his library. Gao Lian was a specialist in the assessing of the quality, identity and authenticity of ancient prints, especially from the Song period 宋 (960-1279). His own poems are to be found in the collections Yashangzhai shicao 雅賞齋詩草 and Fangzhilou ci 芳芷樓詞.