Li Kung-Tso

Born 770; died 850. Chinese prose writer during the period of the T’ang dynasty (seventh to tenth centuries).

Four of Li Kung-tso’s short stories have been preserved, including ’The Governor of Nan-ko,” where fantasy is combined with satiric exposure of the preoccupation with titles. The heroism of a simple woman who was capable of taking revenge on the murderers of her father and husband is glorified in “The Story of Hsieh Hsiao-nqo.” In his creative work Li Kung-tso protested against the feudal aristocracy and the enslavement of women by the Confucian domostroi system.