Biography

Wang Cheng's ancestral home was Mei Prefecture, but since his father Wang Shang (王賞) and grandfather Wang Huai (王淮) were both officials, it's unlikely Wang Cheng was born there. His father Wang Shang worked in the editorial office for the Veritable Records in 1142–1143 and had access to a lot of government information, which was an important source for Wang Cheng's Dongdu Shilüe. In 1178, historian Hong Mai submitted a memorial to Emperor Xiaozong in which he recommended Dongdu Shilüe as highly valuable for his compilation of the National History of Four Emperors (四朝國史). Emperor Xiaozong then granted Wang Cheng an office in Long Prefecture as a Gentleman for Discussion (承議郎).

生平

其父王賞官任實錄修撰。王稱少承家學，淳熙十四年（1187年）以承議郎出知龍州，進《東都事略》百二十卷，特授直秘閣，官至吏部郎中。《四庫提要》謂：「宋人私史卓然可傳者，唯稱與李燾、李心傳之書而三，固宜為考宋史者所珍視」。

著作

著作除《東都事略》外，另有詩四卷，已佚。