Kong Shangren (Chinese: 孔尚任; pinyin: Kǒng Shàngrèn; Wade–Giles: K'ung Shang-jen; 1648 – 1718) was a Qing dynasty dramatist and poet best known for his chuanqi play The Peach Blossom Fan[1] about the last days of the Ming dynasty.
[2] Born in Qufu, Kong was a 64th-generation descendant of Confucius.
The Peach Blossom Fan tells the story of the love story between the scholar Hou Fangyu and the courtesan Li Xiangjun,[3] against the dramatic backdrop of the short history of the Southern Ming.
It remains a favourite of the Kun opera (kunqu) stage.
Kong Shangren is known as the author of a curious poem dedicated to the eyeglasses, a Western innovation brought to Macau by the Portuguese.