柳宗元
唐
Liu Zongyuan, courtesy name Zihou, was a Tang dynasty writer, thinker, and one of the 'Eight Great Masters of the Tang and Song.' He was from Hedong and is often called Liu Hedong. After participating in the failed Yongzhen Reform, he was exiled to Yongzhou and later served as prefect of Liuzhou. Liu Zongyuan was a master of prose, especially landscape records, fables, and argumentative essays. During his years in Yongzhou, he wrote the 'Eight Records of Yongzhou,' in which cold, secluded landscapes often mirror his political frustration and loneliness. His representative works include 'Record of the Little Stone Pool,' 'The Snake Catcher's Story,' 'First Excursion to the Western Hill,' and 'The Donkey of Guizhou.'