Ling Mengchu (Chinese: 凌濛初; pinyin: Líng Méngchū; Wade–Giles: Ling Meng-ch'u; 1580–1644) was a Chinese writer of the Ming Dynasty. He is best known for his vernacular short fiction collections Slapping the Table in Amazement (拍案驚奇), I and II. Source: Wikipedia (en)