Yan Guang

Yan Guang (Chinese: 嚴光, c. 1 – 75), courtesy name Ziling (Chinese: 子陵), also known as Zhuang Guang (Chinese: 莊光),^[1] was one of the four important sages of Yuyao.^[2]

Yan Ziling as depicted in the Wu Shuang Pu (無雙譜, Table of Peerless Heroes) by Jin Guliang

Study

He became a scholar and studied together with Emperor Liu Xiu (courtesy name: Wenshu), known as Emperor Guangwu of Han.

Legacy

Liu Xiu offered Yan Ziling a high position in the court. Yan refused the offer, fearing he would become corrupt, and chose to live as a hermit in the mountains. This act made Yan Ziling a famous Chinese hero and gave him a place in the Wu Shuang Pu (無雙譜, Table of Peerless Heroes)^[3] by Jin Guliang. The images and poems for this book are widely spread and reused over again, including in porcelain art^[4]

In popular culture

• Yan Ziling is portrayed by Ma Tianyu in the 2016 Chinese drama Singing All Along.^[5]