Feng Menglong
Feng Menglong established the "huaben" as a commercially successful genre by publishing three sets of stories. The first, "Gujin Xiaoshuo" ("Stories Old and New"), published in 1620, became known as "Illustrious Words to Instruct the World" ("Yushi Mingyan"). It was followed by "Stories to Caution the World" ("Jingshi Tongyan") in 1624 and "Stories to Awaken the World" ("Xingshi Hengyan") in 1627. Because the character "yan" 言 (word) appears at the end of each title, these three collections are often referred to as "Sanyan" 三言 (Three Words).