古筝演奏家王昌元，一九四五年八月二十二日出生于上海，原籍浙江省杭州，其父为浙江筝家王巽之，九岁时随父习筝，一九六○年，考入上海音乐学院附中，一九六四年，升入该院民族器乐系古筝专业，先后随父及潮乐筝家郭鹰习筝，一九六九年，毕业于上海音乐学院民族音乐系本科后，在上海歌剧院、上海乐团、上海舞剧团及上海民族乐团任职古筝独奏演员。一九八○年代中，王氏移居美国。一九六四年，创作有筝曲《战颱风》，一九七三年，又与浦琦璋合作改编筝曲《洞庭新歌》，两曲均在筝乐中有所创新和发展，奏出时代的新声。
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.