Abstract: Biographical accounts of Wang Daokun exhibit significant variations across local gazetteers of different administrative levels and regions during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Gazetteers from his hometown adhered to the principle of “concealing faults and highlighting virtues”, constructing an image of him as a “well-rounded” local sage; gazetteers from the regions where he served as an official focused on his administrative achievements, portraying him as a model of a “specialized” distinguished official; while national gazetteers, through standardized consolidation, formed a normative image aligned with the state narrative. These differences stem from the interplay of three factors—geographical identity, rules of power, and editorial practices—and represent the interaction between state will and local consciousness within the texts of local gazetteers. By tracing the evolution and integration of biographical narratives, one can not only observe the trajectory of Wang Daokun’s image as it was reshaped across different gazetteers but also discern the general trend in Ming and Qing biographical writing: a shift from local memory to national norms, and from comprehensive narration to functional summaries.

Key words: gazetteers, biographical writing, image construction, Wang Daokun