Wang Zhihuan
Chinese poet (688–742)
Wang Zhihuan (traditional Chinese: 王之渙; simplified Chinese: 王之涣; pinyin: Wáng Zhīhuàn; c. 688–742), alternatively transliterated as Wang Tsu-huan, was a Chinese poet of the Kaiyuan era of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang. He is best known for his jueju "Climbing Stork Tower" (登鸛雀樓).
Poetry
No collection of Wang's poems seems to have been made. Only six of his poems survive, all of which are quatrains, but almost every one has become a classic.
Two poems were included in the famous poetry anthology Three Hundred Tang Poems, translated by Witter Bynner as "Climbing Stork Tower" (also called "On the Stork Tower" or "At Heron Lodge", a five-character-quatrain) and "Beyond the Border", a folk-song-styled-verse.
Famous competition at the wine shop
Wang Zhihuan was once involved in a famous incident at a wine shop with fellow poets Gao Shi and Wang Changling, in which they agreed to compete as to which of their poems would be most sung by the professional entertainers who happened to show up in the course of that evening's entertainment. Towards the beginning of the evening, one performer happened to sing one of Wang Changling's poems. Not too long after that, another performer sang one of Gao Shi's poems. And, then another performer recited another lyric of Wang Changling's.
The public source identifies “Wang Zhihuan” as chinese poet (688–742). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Wang, Zhihuan and Chinese.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Wang Zhihuan”, the useful work is to connect “chinese poet (688–742)” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Biographical claims are most persuasive when dates, appointments and relationships can be traced to records created close to the events described. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 23, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q707247. VIAF identifies the subject as 65847913. The Library of Congress control number is n2003072024. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
Later biographies can compress uncertainty and repeat inherited reputations, so apparently settled claims may still require comparison. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.
- Establishing names and roles
- Building a first chronology
- Locating cited institutions
Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Wang Zhihuan”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Wang Zhihuan primary sources, Wang Zhihuan archive and Wang research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Wang Zhihuan”?
- Which claims depend on a single source or contested interpretation?
- How has the subject’s reputation changed across later accounts?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Wang Zhihuan” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.