Mei Dingzuo (1549-1615) was a Chinese writer and playwright. He was described by a contemporary drama reviewer as being "an outstanding and talented descendant of a distinguished family..."
He was born in Xuancheng. Mei's family consisted of academics and owned a large library of their own. Mei was friends with Tang Xianzu,[1] Wang Shizhen, and Wang Daokun. His teacher was Jiang Qifang. Mei collected books. He would meet with his friends to share books they recently acquired.[1] He failed imperial examinations and became a full-time writer. Mei's hired his own workers to create woodblocks for his books. He also published his books himself.[2]
Works by Mei are held in the National Central Library.[3]