Yuan Zhongdao

Yuan Zhongdao (袁中道, Wade-Giles Yüan Chung-tao; 1570–1624) was a Chinese poet, essayist, travel diarist and official was born in Kung-an in Hu-kuang.

Yuan Zhongdao's own life was a story of breakdown at the cumulative stress of family deaths and repeated failure at the civil service examination.

Yuan Zhongdao would record extremes of mood within even a daily period suggesting perhaps bipolar disorder.

Yuan's diary, Yu chü-fei lu (Travels on Board a Boat) is his literary monument.

Yuan's precarious physical and psychological condition provided the background for his preoccupation with longevity and stress avoidance.