In imperial China, a public official drawn from the ranks of the lesser officeholders who had achieved success in the Chinese examination system. The word comes from the Portuguese version of the Malay term for a minister of state. It has come to mean a pedantic official, a bureaucrat, or a person of position and influence (and usually a traditionalist or reactionary mindset) in intellectual or literary circles. The Mandarin language is the most widely spoken of the Chinese languages.

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(born 1241?, Dadu, China—died 1320?, China) Chinese dramatist. He belonged to a writers' guild that provided plays for performing groups. His plays often dealt with everyday events and sympathetically portrayed women of low social standing. He wrote over 60 plays, 14 of which survive, including Injustice to Dou E, Butterfly Dream, and Saving a Prostitute. Guan is often considered the greatest playwright of the Chinese classical theatre.

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