Yuan Zhen (779 – September 2, 831), courtesy name Weizhi, is a politician of the middle Tang Dynasty, but is more known as an important Chinese writer and poet.
In prose literature, Yuan Zhen is particularly for his work Yingying's Biography, which is often adapted for other treatments, including operatic and musical ones.
In poetry, he is remembered for the inclusion of some of his poems by popular anthologies, his verses on exotic topics (such as the former Liangzhou), and for being part of the group of "New Yuefu" poets, which often use poetry as a form of expression and protest, but one potentially subtle enough to avoid the likely repercussions of more direct criticism.
The poetic circle in which Yuan Zhen is involved includes Bai Juyi, among others.
Politically, Yuan Zhen is briefly chancellor during the reign of Emperor Muzong.
A native of Luoyang, Yuan Zhen is a descendant of Northern Wei's imperial family.
He loses his father at the age of seven and moves to Fengxiang, near today's Baoji, Shanxi with his mother Lady Zheng.
Yuan begins his writings at the age of fifteen.
He is a member of Bai Juyi's literary circle and a key figure in the ancient literature revival.
He wais a friend of Bai Juyi and also of Xue Tao, a courtesan and famous poet who might have been his lover.
Bai Juyi and Yuan Zhen make a "Green Mountain pact" to retire together as Taoist recluses once they have accumulated enough funds, but Yuan's untimely death keeps them from achieving this dream.
In 813, Yuan writes a grave inscription for Du Fu, which contains some of the earliest known praise for his predecessor's works.
