Hong Mai

[5] In 1145, with the favor of Emperor Gaozong of Song, Hong Mai was given a government post in the department of transportation (Zhuanyun Si).

[5] In 1162, Hong Mai was sent to Jurchen Empire; which ruled the northern half of China at the time; as a diplomat.

[5] Yijianzhi was one of Hong's major contribution to the Chinese Yaoguai mythology tradition that dates back to the time of Gan Bao.

More importantly, the record depicts the daily life of Song dynasty Chinese in detail which otherwise would remain unknown to modern time researchers.

Especially, Hong praised the Tang dynasty fiction writers for their touching renditions of common people's day-to-day emotions.