Tu Long was a playwright

Playwright

A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...

 and essayist who lived during the Ming Dynasty

Ming Dynasty

The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...

. He was born in Yin county (now Yin county, in suburb of Ningpo city, Zhejiang

Zhejiang

Zhejiang is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. The word Zhejiang was the old name of the Qiantang River, which passes through Hangzhou, the provincial capital...

).

In 1577, Tu Long obtained the degree of jinshi. He later became the Chief Magistrate

Magistrate

A magistrate is an officer of the state; in modern usage the term usually refers to a judge or prosecutor. This was not always the case; in ancient Rome, a magistratus was one of the highest government officers and possessed both judicial and executive powers. Today, in common law systems, a...

 of Qinpu (now Qinpu county, Shanghai

Shanghai

Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...

 ). After he was libeled and quit his job, he concentrated on writing plays and essays.

Tu Long rejected the adherence to strict ancient format, he advocated that a writer must write from his heart

Heart

The heart is a myogenic muscular organ found in all animals with a circulatory system , that is responsible for pumping blood throughout the blood vessels by repeated, rhythmic contractions...

.

Works

• Drama: Tan Hua Ji, ("The Story of Udumbara")
• Drama: Cai Hau Ji, ("A Tale of Colorful Feather") about the Tang dynasty poet Li Bai
  Li Bai
  Li Bai , also known in the West by various other transliterations, especially Li Po, was a major Chinese poet of the Tang dynasty poetry period. He has been regarded as one of the greatest poets in China's Tang period, which is often called China's "golden age" of poetry. Around a thousand existing...
  
   李白
• Poems: Bai Yu Ji, ("White Elm Collection")

Tu Long is best known internationally for his work on the art of living: Kao Pan Yu Shi, (考槃余事, "Desultory Remarks on Furnishing the Abode of the Retired Scholar"), first published in 1606. Desultory Remarks has fifteen treatises:

1. Calligraphy and books

2. Rubbings

3. Paintings

4. Paper

5. Ink

6. Brushes

7. Inkstones

8. Qin ("zither

Zither

The zither is a musical string instrument, most commonly found in Slovenia, Austria, Hungary citera, northwestern Croatia, the southern regions of Germany, alpine Europe and East Asian cultures, including China...

s")

9. Incense

10. Tea

11. Potted plants

12. Fish and birds

13. Mountain studio

14. Necessities of life and dress

15. Utensils of the studio

The art historian Craig Clunas suggests that the Desultory Remarks is essentially a compendium, gathered from other existing sources, such as Gao Lian

Gao Lian

Gao Lian may refer to:* Gao Lian , ancient dramatist* Gao Lian , a Water Margin character...

's Eight Treatises on the Nurturing of Life, (for which Tu Long wrote a preface). Whether or not this is the case, Tu Long's discourses certainly had greater immediate recognition and influence; they were much more widely cited in later collections, and were a primary source for Wen Zhenheng

Wen Zhenheng

Wen Zhenheng was a Ming dynasty scholar, painter, landscape garden designer, and great grandson of Wen Zhengming, a famous Ming dynasty painter....

's Treatise of Superfluous Things.