Mid-Táng 唐 scholar and hermit, active c. 742 CE under Táng Xuánzōng 唐玄宗. Native of Yí chéng 宜城 (Húběi 湖北). Commissioned by the imperial court in 742 to compose the scripture that would be canonised as [[KR5c0050|Dòng líng zhēn jīng]] 洞靈真經 (the Kàngcāng zǐ 亢倉子) — one of the four Táng-canonised Daoist classics.
Name variant. Attested both as 王士源 (士源 “Yuán, ‘source’”) and 王士元 (元 “Yuán, ‘origin’”) in different sources. The two are orthographic variants of the same name; modern scholarship uses 王士源 as standard.
Activity. In 742, at the behest of Táng Xuánzōng, Wáng Shìyuán composed the Kàngcāng zǐ in 9 piān, taking the Zhuāngzǐ chapter 23 “Gēngsāng Chǔ” 庚桑楚 as the starting-point and incorporating substantial material from the Lǚshì chūnqiū 呂氏春秋 (especially the Shàng nóng 上農 and Dàng bīng 盪兵 chapters). The resulting work — composed under the guise of an ancient text attributed to Gēngsāng Chǔ, a legendary disciple of Lǎozǐ from Zhuāngzǐ chapter 23 — was promulgated as the fourth of the four Táng-canonised Daoist classics (alongside Dàodé jīng, Zhuāngzǐ, Lièzǐ). See the detailed account at KR5c0050.
Other work. Wáng Shìyuán is also well-known as the compiler of the Mèng Hàorán jí 孟浩然集 — the collected works of the famous Táng poet Mèng Hàorán 孟浩然 (689–740), whom Wáng had befriended and whose works he gathered after Mèng’s death. The Mèng Hàorán jí preface by Wáng is one of the primary biographical sources on Mèng Hàorán.
Dating. Active c. 740–755 (contemporary with Mèng Hàorán’s death in 740 and with Xuánzōng’s 742 canonisation programme). No precise lifedates.
Critical reception. The 742 canonisation of the Kàngcāng zǐ was controversial. Wáng Shìyuán’s contemporary Wèi Táo 韋滔 composed a critical preface (750) to the Mèng Hàorán jí protesting the promotion of a freshly-composed text to the rank of classical scripture; Féng Yǎn 封演 (fl. 742–805) similarly objected in his Fēng shì wén jiàn jì 封氏聞見記. The criticism reflected contemporary recognition of Wáng Shìyuán’s authorship despite the pseudo-ancient framing.
Disambiguation. Not to be confused with other Táng figures named Wáng Shìyuán. This Wáng Shìyuán is specifically identified through the DZ 669 Kàngcāng zǐ and the Mèng Hàorán jí.