Mid-Táng 唐 official and Daoist commentator, author of the distinctive [[KR5c0101|Dàodé jīng lùn bīng yào yì shù]] 道德經論兵要義述 (DZ 713) — a military-strategic reading of the Dàodé jīng, presented to the Xiànzōng 憲宗 court in 809 CE.
Office. Identified in the DZ 713 covering-letter as Hàn zhōu cì shǐ 漢州刺史 (“Prefect of Hàn zhōu”). Hàn zhōu 漢州 = modern Guǎng hàn 廣漢 in Sìchuān 四川 — a prefecture under the Jiànnán 劍南 Circuit of the mid-Táng. This was a mid-rank provincial office, equivalent to a 5th-grade imperial appointment.
Dating. Active 809 CE (presentation date of DZ 713). No lifedates or further biographical details are recorded. No CBDB record identified.
Work. His sole known work is the Dàodé jīng lùn bīng yào yì shù (DZ 713) — originally in 2 juàn (as listed in KR5c0062 Wài zhuàn), now transmitted in 4 juàn. A military-strategic reading of the Dàodé jīng, arguing that every chapter of the scripture bears in some way on military affairs — but with the essential message being bù zhēng 不爭 (“non-contention”), i.e. a doctrine of strategic restraint rather than active martial aggression. See KR5c0101 for the full entry.
Mention in the Xuánzōng Wài zhuàn. The Wài zhuàn to KR5c0062 DZ 679 includes Wáng Zhēn in its bibliography of 62 pre-Xuánzōng commentators: Hàn zhōu cì shǐ Wáng Zhēn, zuò Lùn bīng shù yì shàng xià èr juàn 漢州刺史王真，作論兵述義上下二卷 (“Wáng Zhēn, Prefect of Hàn zhōu, composed Discussion of Things Military — A Recounting of Meaning in 2 juàn”).
Given that the Xuánzōng commentary and its Wài zhuàn date to c. 732 and after, the inclusion of Wáng Zhēn — whose work was presented in 809 — suggests that the Wài zhuàn is, as Schipper & Verellen argue, a later (Five-Dynasties) compilation that has been attributed to the Xuánzōng-era tradition. Wáng Zhēn’s mention in that bibliography confirms that his work circulated in the mid-to-late Táng Daoist scholarly community.
Disambiguation. Not to be confused with other Wáng Zhēn figures of Chinese history (including the Hàn-era Wáng Zhēn 王貞, the Míng eunuch Wáng Zhēn 王振 d. 1449, and other homonyms). The mid-Táng Hànzhōu cìshǐ Wáng Zhēn is a distinct figure, known only through DZ 713.