古箏演奏家王昌元，一九四五年八月二十二日出生於上海，原籍浙江省杭州，其父為浙江箏家王巽之，九歲時隨父習箏，一九六○年，考入上海音樂學院附中，一九六四年，升入該院民族器樂系古箏專業，先後隨父及潮樂箏家郭鷹習箏，一九六九年，畢業於上海音樂學院民族音樂系本科後，在上海歌劇院、上海樂團、上海舞劇團及上海民族樂團任職古箏獨奏演員。一九八○年代中，王氏移居美國。一九六四年，創作有箏曲《戰颱風》，一九七三年，又與浦琦璋合作改編箏曲《洞庭新歌》，兩曲均在箏樂中有所創新和發展，奏出時代的新聲。
WANG Chang-yuan
WANG Chang-yuan was born on August 22,1945 in Shanghai. Her ancestral home was in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province and her father was the renowned zheng musician WANG Xun-zhi of the Zhejiang school. She started to learn the zheng from her father when she was nine. In 1960, she was admitted to the affiliated middle school of the Shanghai Conservatory. She continued her university training in the conservatory under her father and GUO Ying of the Chaozhou school. In 1969, after her graduation from the conservator, she was appointed to the Shanghai Opera House, Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra and the Shanghai Traditional Orchestra as a zheng soloist. In the mid of 1980’s, she immigrated to US. In 1964, she started her composition of the famous zheng piece Battling against the Typhone and in 1973, she worked together with PU Qi-zhang to make arrangement of The New Song of Dongting.