Ouyang Xiu

(1007 - 1072)

As a writer Ouyang Xiu led a literary movement favoring the “ancient style” inspired by the works of Han Yu; as a statesman he followed Confucian principles in his attempts at political reform. After serving as a judge and as a collator of imperial texts, he was banished from court for defending a fellow reformist; during his exile, he wrote Historical Records of the Five Dynasties.