Mi Heng ( 173198), courtesy name Zhengping, was an ancient Chinese writer and musician who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty. He is best known for his fu rhapsody "Fu on the Parrot", which is his only work that has survived to modern times. Life Mi Heng was born around 173 in Ban County (), Pingyuan Commandery (), which is in present-day Shanghe County, Shandong. In the early 190s, Mi Heng, like many others, fled northern China to escape the chaos that broke out towards the end of the Han dynasty. He settled in Jing Province (covering present-day Hubei and Hunan) and joined the staff of its Governor, Liu Biao. Around 196, Mi Heng moved north to join the imperial court that the warlord Cao Cao had established in Xu (許; present-day Xuchang, Henan). Mi Heng was friendly with the prominent scholar Kong Rong, who wrote a memorial recommending him for imperial service and submitted it to Emperor Xian, who was then mainly a puppet ruler under Cao Cao's control. Mi Heng returned to Jing Province in 197, where he stayed until his death a year or two later. Although Mi Heng was known as a gifted poet and talented writer, he was prone to erratic behaviour, offensive jokes, and an arrogant attitude that made him difficult to socialise with, and even caused some to question his sanity. Upon arriving in Xu around 196, Kong Rong spoke highly of Mi Heng to Cao Cao, who summoned him for an audience. Mi Heng, however, had a low opinion of Cao Cao, and refused to attend. Cao Cao was outraged by Mi Heng's refusal, but refrained from punishing Mi due to his reputation as a talent. Mi Heng was known as a talented drummer, so Cao Cao invited him to perform with several other drummers at a banquet. Cao Cao provided special garments for the drummers to wear, but Mi Heng refused to wear the provided clothing and wore his own clothes when he performed in front of Cao Cao and the other high-ranking guests. When an attendant scolded him for not dressing appropriately, Mi slowly stripped, stood naked in front of Cao Cao and the other guests for a few moments, and then slowly put on the drummers' garments and continued performing without showing any embarrassment. Kong Rong arranged a second meeting between Mi Heng and Cao Cao, but Mi