Abstract: The process of writing personal history into the history of the Ming Dynasty is very complex. The biographer needs to read his subject’s chronicles, epitaphs, tombstones, sketches and works for reference. In addition to all this, he must make field investigations and visit the subject’s various relations as well. The completion of the first draft goes through repeated modification before it is finalized. It is then incorporated into the Ming History, with further modification made by a number of historiographers. The Biography of Wang Shouren, characteristic of the huge accumulated efforts by generations of historians, stood the test of time. The first version is Wang Shouren, a Historical Biography by Wang Shizhen, who spent years working on revisions of earlier drafts before publication. Later generations of writers made modifications to the original version; examples from the Ming Dynasty include Yin Shouheng’s Chronicles of Wang Shouren andShenZhaoyang’sWangShouren the Scholar;in the Qing Dynasty there were various versions of biographies of Wang Shouren by Mao Qi-ling, You Tong, Wan Si-tong, and Wang Hongxu. Historiographer Fu Weilin’sBiography of Wang Shouren is almost a replication of Wang Shizhen’s version, while the last version of Biography of Wang Shouren is further improved by Mao Qiling, Wang Hongxu, Fu Weilin, You Tong, Wan Sitongand Fu Weilin. From Wang Shizhen'sWangShouren: a Historical Biography to “Wang Shouren’s Biography and Ming History,” Wang Shouren’s biography witnessed more than ten versions. This attests to the serious-mindedness involved in biography-writing.

 Key Words: Biography of Wang Shouren in History of the Ming Dynasty; Wang Shizhen; Wang Shouren; Biographies of Confucianism

Wei Hongyuan, Ph. D., is an Associate Professor in College of Chinese Literature at Lanzhou University, where he teaches ancient Chinese literature and philology. His research is part of the project of National Social Science Fund “Research on Wang Shizen’s Literature and His Thoughts in His Later Years” (IN: 10CZW030) and the project of humanities funded by Ministry of Education. His recent publications include “Doubts on Wang Shizhen’sFeng Zhou Notes,” (2012) and “The Replacing of ‘Wu Style’ by ‘Chu Tune’ in the late Ming Dynasty” (2012).