Chen Jiru (1558-1639) was one of the great late-Ming arbiters of culture and taste, and the impact of his innovations can still be traced in present-day China. In late Ming, when culture and taste enjoyed a social prestige beyond their usual standing, Chen's influence appears even greater than it may have otherwise. This is the first major work in any language to examine Chen's background, make a contrastive study of the genres he utilised in forging his literary reputation,and to examine the use that publishers and others have made since of the literary personae he constructed. A study clearly of interest to historians of early Modern China, as well as to those who study cultural and print histories of both East and West.