Wang Shao is the author of the Nan Yongzhou Ji (Records of Southern Yongzhou). Beyond this, very little is publicly known about his life. Only one work is attributed to him, and it is classified among classic works. The available sources do not confirm his native place, dates of birth and death, or official career, nor do they allow us to infer the circumstances under which he wrote the book. Judging by its title, the Nan Yongzhou Ji belongs to the genre of local records, covering the landscape, administrative divisions, people, and customs of Southern Yongzhou; it is a valuable source for the history and geography of the region. Works of this kind often combine gazetteer and miscellaneous history, written in concise prose and devoted to factual record, a tradition Wang Shao's writing follows. Owing to the lack of historical material, his other activities can no longer be traced, and readers can know him only through this surviving work.
