Suíyuán Xiàshì 隨緣下士 (“The Lowly Scholar Who Follows Fate”) is the pseudonym of the unidentified early-Qīng author of the domestic novel Lín Lán Xiāng 林蘭香 KR4k0179. The sobriquet conveys Buddhist or Daoist connotations of resigned acceptance of karmic fate (suíyuán 隨緣, “following conditions/fate”), combined with self-deprecating modesty (xiàshì 下士, “the humble/lower scholar”). No identification of the real person behind this pseudonym has achieved scholarly consensus. Various proposals have been made on the basis of the novel’s content, regional references, and literary style, but none has been confirmed. The novel is generally dated to the early eighteenth century (c. 1710–1740), which is the working assumption for this pseudonymous author’s floruit.
Within the Kanripo corpus. KR4k0179 Lín Lán Xiāng 林蘭香 (撰).