He was the seventh and youngest son of the famed Wang Xizhi. Wang inherited his father's talent for the art, although his siblings were all notable calligraphers. His style is more fluid than his father's, demonstrating a reaction against Wang Xizhi's calligraphy. Amongst his innovations is the one-stroke cursive script, which blends all characters in the writing in a single stroke. Until the Tang Dynasty his influence and reputation rivaled and even surpassed that of his father.