Chen Meigong in the Ming and Qing Dynasties

Chen Meigong is one of the most well-known representative literati in the late Ming period. Since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, a series of drastic changes have occurred regarding the circulation and acceptance of his works and reputation as a literary figure. People of the Ming and those of the Qing prior to the period of Qianlong Reign sang high praise of Chen Meigong, whereas people after the Qianlong period had quite different ideas about him. In the former perspective he is a decorous, refined and erudite scholar, and in the latter he is a pretentious, superficial hypocrite. The rise and fall of Meigong's status reveal the changes of fashion on literature and culture in different periods.