Wang Shizhen

Wang Shizhen (1526–1590) was a Chinese scholar-official, writer and historian during the Ming dynasty. A leading figure among the Latter Seven Masters, he served as a prominent literary arbiter and critic in Ming China during the 1570s and 1580s.

Biography Wang Shizhen was from Taicang (present-day county-level city of Suzhou in Jiangsu Province) and was born in 1526. He studied Confucianism, passed the civil service examinations, and in 1547 succeeded in the highest level—the palace examination—earning the jinshi degree.

He represented the generation that dominated Ming Chinese society between the decline of the Wang Yangming school after 1579 and the rise of the Donglin movement after 1604. This generation moved away from Confucian idealism and social activism, and instead developed an interest in literary aesthetics and scholarship. Wang's literary views, particularly his focus on textual criticism and skepticism, gained followers not only in China but also in Japan. He had a significant influence on Tokugawa Confucian writers, most notably Ogyū Sorai (1667–1728).