Xu Zhonglin

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Xu Zhonglin (許仲琳;许仲琳) (dates of birth and death unknown) was born in Nanjing, which was called Ying Tianfu (應天府;应天府) in the Ming dynasty. He was commonly known as the author of Fengshen Yanyi (封神演義;封神演义) (translated as The Investiture of the Gods or The Creation of the Gods in English). Some say Xu wrote this book for a trousseau for his daughter. His hao(號,号), a kind of Chinese courtesy name, might be Zhongshan Yishou (鍾山逸叟;钟山逸叟), which literally means a carefree old man living in Zhongshan. The name appears in Chapter 2 of Fengshen Yanyi; this name provides evidence that the authorship of that classical novel belongs to him.