祢衡 (173–198) was famous for insulting the powerful,
曹操 among them. At a banquet given by
黄射, son of the Jiangxia governor
黄祖, a guest presented a parrot and Mi Heng wrote this piece on the spot. The islet in the Yangtze where it happened was named
鹦鹉洲. Huang Zu later had him killed.
