Wang Cheng (died 1200),

courtesy name A courtesy name (), also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This practice is a tradition in the East Asian cultural sphere, including China China, officially the People's R ...

Jiping, was a

Song dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the res ...

historian who authored the monumental history book '' Dongdu Shilüe''. He also published 4 volumes of poetry which are no longer extant.

Biography

Wang Cheng's

ancestral home An ancestral home is the place of origin of one's extended family, particularly the home owned and preserved by the same family for several generations. The term can refer to an individual house or estate, or to a broader geographic area such as a ...

was

Mei Prefecture Mei may refer to: Names * Mei (surname), a Chinese, Italian, Russian or Estonian family name * Mei (given name), a given name Places * Mei County, Guangdong, China, a county * Mei Pass, Guangdong, a strategic mountain pass * Mei River, Guang ...

, but since his father Wang Shang (王賞) and grandfather Wang Huai (王淮) were both officials, it's unlikely Wang Cheng was born there. His father Wang Shang worked in the editorial office for the Veritable Records in 1142–1143 and had access to a lot of government information, which was an important source for Wang Cheng's '' Dongdu Shilüe''. In 1178, historian

Hong Mai Hong Mai (, 1123 Poyang-1202 Hangzhou), courtesy name Jinglu (), art name Yechu () and Rongzhai (), was a Chinese statesman, Confucian scholar and writer during the Southern Song dynasty. He was the author of '' Yijianzhi'' () and '' Rongzhai Suib ...

submitted a memorial to

Emperor Xiaozong Emperor Xiaozong of Song (27 November 1127 – 28 June 1194), personal name Zhao Shen, courtesy name Yuanyong, was the 11th emperor of the Song dynasty of China and the second emperor of the Southern Song dynasty. He started his reign in 1 ...

in which he recommended ''Dongdu Shilüe'' as highly valuable for his compilation of the ''National History of Four Emperors'' (四朝國史). Emperor Xiaozong then granted Wang Cheng an office in

Long Prefecture Long may refer to: Measurement * Long, characteristic of something of great duration * Long, characteristic of something of great length * Longitude (abbreviation: long.), a geographic coordinate * Longa (music), note value in early music mensur ...

as a Gentleman for Discussion (承議郎). Wang Cheng
''Dongdu Shilüe'', Preface.
/ref>

References

* * Song dynasty historians 12th-century Chinese historians {{China-hist-stub