History

He shares his fame with two other brothers, Yuan Zongdao (1560–1600) and Yuan Hongdao (1568–1610); they are collectively known as the Three Yuan Brothers. The three brothers dominated the literature of the period. From a family of financial means, they printed and distributed their own works. The youngest of the brothers, Yuan Zhongdao, took years in his pursuit of a civil-service examination degree. The brothers were all openly ambivalent about social position. Yuan Zhongdao spent quantities of money on boats for his extended excursions. His brothers and their families were haunted by disease. Yuan Zhongdao's own life was a story of breakdown at the cumulative stress of family deaths and repeated failure at the civil service examination.

Yuan Zhongdao's principal health problem was perhaps tuberculosis. Yuan Zhongdao would record extremes of mood within even a daily period suggesting perhaps bipolar disorder. Yuan Zhongdao was denied the complete rest he needed for such a condition due to pressing family needs. Yuan's diary, Yu chü-fei lu (Travels on Board a Boat) is his literary monument. Yuan's precarious physical and psychological condition provided the background for his preoccupation with longevity and stress avoidance. He avoided a Buddhistic vegetarian diet, perceiving a need for protein in his diet. Excessive drinking and too many wives were other perceived impediments. His travel diary is full of such detail. Yuan records an early reading of the celebrated novel Jin Ping Mei (The Golden Lotus). He was likewise associated with the radical philosopher Li Zhi 李贽 (1527–1602) and his espousals of popular literature. Likewise Yuan Zhongdao had the acquaintance of the Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci (1552–1610). In 1616 he passed the Imperial examination and obtained a succession of official posts.

Poetry

"Record of a Dream"

Prose writings

He was a notable author of the xiaopin, a form of short literary essay.

Bibliography

Books

• Mair, Victor H. (ed.) (2001). The Columbia History of Chinese Literature. New York: Columbia University Press. . (Amazon Kindle edition.)

Articles

• Carpenter, Bruce E., "Yüan Chung-tao and the Seventeenth-Century Life", Tezukayama University Review (Tezukayama daigaku ronshū), Nara, Japan, no. 64, 1989, pp. 21–37.

生平

十几岁时即作黄山、雪二赋，五千馀言。长大后更加豪放不羁，跟随大哥袁宗道、二哥袁宏道宦游京师，广交天下四方名士，足迹遍及半个天下。万历三十一年（1603年）中湖广乡试举人。万历四十四年（1616年）登丙辰科进士。由直隶徽州府教授，历官国子监博士、南京礼部主事。天启四年（1624年）升任南京吏部郎中，卒于官。袁中道他与公安派其馀成员相同，主张即使研究古文，也不可全部模仿，而是要有其变化。他不但发扬公安派主力袁宏道的反复古理论，也将其理论详细补充论述。与大哥袁宗道、二哥袁宏道等人并称「公安三袁」。

著作

著有《珂雪斋集》二十四卷、《游居柿录》十三卷等。

注释