Wang Xian Qian (1842-1918), from Hunan Changsha, courtesy name Yi Wu. The place of study and recreation he created for himself is named "Xu Shou Tang," his residence called Kui Yuan, and therefore was referred to as Mr. Kui Yuan.

Wang Xian Qian did not come from an affluent family background, and as such they lacked the financial means to pay a teacher for Wang's education. In addition his father was often away from home earning a livelihood, and therefore was unable to personally instruct and teach his own children on school. The responsibility to teach Wang fell primarily to his mother (surname Bao) and his elder brothers Wang Xian He, with Wang Xian Hu shouldering the responsibility on educating the household. Fortunately, his mother was born into a scholarly family with a literary reputation, and was well versed with poetry and classics. It can be seen that Wang Xian Qian's childhood and development was primarily influenced by his family.

In the fourth year of Xian Feng (1854), Wang Xian Qian passed the local exam, earning a scholarship. The third year of Tongzhi (1864) he passed the provincial imperial exam. In the following year he was a successful candidate in the highest imperial civil service examination, and was given a position in the Imperial Hanlin Academy, doing compiling and editing work, and later promoted to become a lecturer. In the sixth year of Guanxu (1880) he was given a post in the Imperial College (Guozijian), the highest educational body in Imperial China. In 1885, he was sent to Jiangsu as a government official, the provincial commissioner for education.

Guangxu fifteenth year (1889), Wang gave up his position in Jiangsu and returned to Changsha to live. Wang became a lecturer for Si Xian Jiang She, a Confucian school, and also set up a publishing house. He became the head of two schools, Cheng Nan Academy and Yue Lu Academy, staying at the latter place as a lecturer for ten years. After the Xinhai Revolution (1911), Wang changed his name to "Dun," and moved to Pingjiang, and closed the door to all visitors, to undertake collating projects of ancient texts and literature. Not long after, he passed away from illness in his residence, "Liang Tang," in Changsha, Hunan.

Wang Xian Qian lived a life of scholarship, and achieved notable results in the field of literature. His primary works are:

Shi San Jia Yi Ji Shu《詩三家義集疏》﹑ Shangshu Kong Chuan Can Zheng《尚書孔傳參正》﹑ Shiming Shu Zheng Bu《釋名疏證補》﹑Han Shu Bu Zhu, 《漢書補注》﹑ Shui Jing Zhu《水經注》﹑ Hou Hanshu Ji Jie《後漢書集解》﹑Xun Zi Ji Jie《荀子集解》。