Yuan Zhen, courtesy name Weizhi (微之), was a Chinese novelist, poet, and politician of the middle Tang dynasty. In prose literature, Yuan Zhen is particularly known for his work Yingying's Biography, which has often been adapted for other treatments, including operatic and musical ones. In poetry, he is remembered for the inclusion of some of his poems by popular anthologies, his verses on exotic topics, and for being part of the group of "New Yuefu" poets, which often used poetry as a form of expression and protest, but one potentially subtle enough to avoid the likely repercussions of more direct criticism. The poetic circle in which Yuan Zhen was involved included Bai Juyi, among others. Politically Yuan Zhen was briefly chancellor, during the reign of Emperor Muzong.

The Biography of Ying-ying, also translated as The Tale of Yingying or The Story of Yingying, by Yuan Zhen, is a Tang dynasty chuanqi tale. It tells the story of a relationship conflicted between love and duty between a 16-year-old girl and a 21-year-old student. It is considered to be one of the most well-known works of fiction in Chinese literature.