Ye Shi (1150-1223), whose courtesy name was Zhengze, was born in Ruian, a county-level city in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province. His ancestral home was Longquan in Lishui, and in his later years he settled in Yongjia county in Wenzhou.

He was a philosopher and writer of the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279). Known as Mr Shuixing, he was a master of the Yongjia school of thought.

He contributed to philosophy, history, literature, economics and politics, and wrote 28 rolls of Shuixin works.

Ye Shi insisted on materialism in philosophy, and advocated originality in literature creation. He valued business and opposed traditional policies that emphasized agriculture and were against industry and commerce.