He shares his fame with two other brothers,
Yuan Zongdao (1560–1600) and
Yuan Hongdao (1568–1610); they are collectively known as the
Three Yuan Brothers. The three brothers dominated the literature of the period. From a family of financial means, they printed and distributed their own works. The youngest of the brothers, Yuan Zhongdao, took years in his pursuit of a civil-service examination degree. The brothers were all openly ambivalent about social position. Yuan Zhongdao spent quantities of money on boats for his extended excursions. His brothers and their families were haunted by disease. Yuan Zhongdao's own life was a story of breakdown at the cumulative stress of family deaths and repeated failure at the
civil service examination. Yuan Zhongdao's principal health problem was perhaps
tuberculosis. Yuan Zhongdao would record extremes of mood within even a daily period suggesting perhaps
bipolar disorder. Yuan Zhongdao was denied the complete rest he needed for such a condition due to pressing family needs. Yuan's diary,
Yu chü-fei lu (Travels on Board a Boat) is his literary monument. Yuan's precarious physical and psychological condition provided the background for his preoccupation with longevity and stress avoidance. He avoided a
Buddhistic vegetarian diet, perceiving a need for
protein in his diet. Excessive drinking and too many wives were other perceived impediments. His travel diary is full of such detail. Yuan records an early reading of the celebrated novel
Jin Ping Mei (
The Golden Lotus). He was likewise associated with the radical philosopher
Li Zhi 李贄 (1527–1602) and his espousals of popular literature. Likewise Yuan Zhongdao had the acquaintance of the
Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci (1552–1610). In 1616 he passed the
Imperial examination and obtained a succession of official posts. == Poetry ==