Mi Heng is best known for his fu rhapsody "Fu on the Parrot", which is his only work that has survived to modern times.
11 Facts About Mi Heng
1.
2.
Mi Heng was born around 173 in Ban County, Pingyuan Commandery, which is in present-day Shanghe County, Shandong.
3.
Mi Heng settled in Jing Province and joined the staff of its Governor, Liu Biao.
4.
Around 196, Mi Heng moved north to join the imperial court that the warlord Cao Cao had established in Xu.
5.
Mi Heng was friendly with the prominent scholar Kong Rong, who wrote a memorial recommending him for imperial service and submitted it to Emperor Xian, who was then mainly a puppet ruler under Cao Cao's control.
6.
Mi Heng returned to Jing Province in 197, where he stayed until his death a year or two later.
7.
Mi Heng had a low opinion of Cao Cao, and refused to attend.
8.
Mi Heng was known as a talented drummer, so Cao Cao invited him to perform with several other drummers at a banquet.
9.
Cao Cao provided special garments for the drummers to wear, but Mi Heng refused to wear the provided clothing and wore his own clothes when he performed in front of Cao Cao and the other high-ranking guests.
10.
However, Mi Heng got into trouble when he insulted Huang Zu in front of all of his officers at a banquet.
11.
Mi Heng's only surviving work is his "Fu on the Parrot", probably written in 198, which was collected and preserved in the Selections of Refined Literature.