He was born in Youfufeng (右扶風) in the former Han capital region, in modern Xianyang, Shaanxi Province.
[citation needed] His notable students were Lu Zhi and Zheng Xuan.
[3] He was suspended for ten years due to critical comments, but was eventually restored to the Governor of Nan Commandery (modern Hubei).
His biography appears in the Book of Later Han (volume 60, part 1).
He wrote the Rhapsody on Long Flute (長笛賦); the Song dynasty Classic of Loyalty (忠經), patterned after the Classic of Filial Piety, bears attribution to his name.