Ban Gu

Ban Gu
Ban Gu, 1st-century Chinese poet, historian, and compiler of the Book of Han
Born	AD 32 Anling, Fufeng County, Han dynasty (now Xianyang, Shaanxi)
Died	AD 92 (aged 59–60)
Other names	Mengjian
Occupation(s)	Historian, poet, politician
Known for	Book of Han
Relatives	Ban Biao (father) Consort Ban (grand-aunt) Ban Chao (brother) Ban Zhao (sister)

Ban Gu
"Ban Gu" in Chinese characters
Chinese	班固
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Bān Gù Gwoyeu Romatzyh Ban Guh Wade–Giles Pan1 Ku4 IPA [pán kû] Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Bāan Gu Jyutping Baan1 Gu3 IPA [pan˥ ku˧] Southern Min Hokkien POJ Pan Kòo Middle Chinese Middle Chinese Pæn Kù Old Chinese Baxter–Sagart (2014) *pˤ<r>an [k]ˤa-s
Alternative Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	孟堅
Simplified Chinese	孟坚
Literal meaning	(courtesy name)
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Mèngjiān Gwoyeu Romatzyh Menqjian Wade–Giles Meng4-chien1 Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Maahng-gīn Jyutping Maang6-gin1 Southern Min Hokkien POJ Bīng-kian Middle Chinese Middle Chinese Mæ̀ng-ken Old Chinese Baxter–Sagart (2014) *mˤrang-s kˤin<g>

Ban Gu (AD 32–92) was a Chinese historian, poet, and politician best known for his part in compiling the Book of Han, the second of China's 24 dynastic histories. He also wrote a number of fu, a major literary form, part prose and part poetry, which is particularly associated with the Han era. A number of Ban's fu were collected by Xiao Tong in the Wen Xuan.