Shi Nai'an

Almost everything about Shi Nai'an is uncertain. Tradition places him in eastern China, around Suzhou or Xinghua, and gives his dates as roughly 1296 to 1372. Later accounts say he passed the imperial exams, served briefly as an official, and then quit to write. None of this can be confirmed, because the records were written long after his death. Some scholars doubt that he existed and suspect the name is a pseudonym.