“A Letter to a Friend Informing the Health Status” in Running Script

Fan Chengda was born in Pingjiang, Wu county (today’s Suzhou, Jiangsu province). His courtesy name was Zhengneng and literary name Shihujushi. He passed the Imperial Exam in the twenty-fourth year of the Shaoxing period in the reign of Emperor Gaozong (1144). He was first appointed as an official of residence, and later as Director of Medicine (jianhejiju) and Mayor of Chuzhou among other positions. He led a secluded life in his later years by the Shihu Lake. He was conferred with the posthumous name Wenmu. He was long famous for his writings, with a specialization in poetry. He was known as one of the “Four Great Poets of the Southern Song Dynasty” (zhongxingsidashiren) along with You Mao, Yang Wanli, and Lu You.