王鏊

Wang Ao was a well-known literatus-official of the Ming dynasty, and the works by him that survive are close in genre to notes and miscellaneous records. The collection contains six of his works, including Wang Wenke Gong Biji, Zhenze Changyu, Zhenze Jiwen, and Shouxi Biji, which suggests that much of his writing takes the form of informal jottings, recording observations and offering remarks and reflections. Because public information is limited, his life, native place, and dates of birth and death cannot be reliably established, so this note confines itself to the works. Judging from their common classification under classics, social sciences, culture, literary appreciation, and Eastern philosophy, his writings combine historical and literary value with intellectual interest; his tone is plain and attentive to record and verification, and they offer some reference for understanding the observations and views of Ming-dynasty literati.