Yu Xiangdou

He took over the leadership of his family's printing conglomerate in Jianyang, Fujian after repeatedly failing the imperial examination, and was known for including portraits of himself in his publications.

[4] At the time of Yu's birth around 1560, his family owned the largest printing conglomerate in Jianyang, Fujian, which comprised some thirty independent publishing houses.

"[6] Yu is credited with authoring two shenmo novels—the Huaguang Tianwang Nanyou zhizhuan (華光天王南遊志傳)[c] and the Quanxiang Beiyou ji Xuandi chushen zhuan (全像北游記玄帝出身傳).

For instance, his additions to his 1594 edition of Water Margin were derided as "the hasty, slipshod writing of a relatively illiterate bookseller" by one reviewer.

[8] While many authors at the time were known to include their portraits in their books, it was "extremely rare" for commercial publishers to follow suit.