Wang Anshi

Wang Anshi (1021–1086), courtesy name Jiefu and style name Banshan, was a native of Linchuan, Fuzhou (present-day Jiangxi) in the Northern Song dynasty. An outstanding statesman, thinker, writer and reformer, he is counted among the Eight Great Prose Masters of the Tang and Song. During the Xining era he twice served as chancellor and led a reform movement, introducing the Green Sprouts and Corvée Exemption laws; Lenin called him "a reformer of China in the eleventh century." He was posthumously honored with the title Wen and is commonly known as Wang Jinggong. His writings circulated widely, and this site holds fifteen of his works, including Collected Works of Wang Anshi, the six-volume Complete Works, several multi-volume editions of his prose, and commentaries and poetry anthologies. His prose and verse are noted for their concise, sharp style and lofty purpose, combining political ambition with literary talent.