Wang Can (177 - 217 A.D.) was a native of Yang Gaoping (Zou county of Shangdong), and was considered as one of the seven scholars of Jiang An. He and Liu Xie were hailed as the best among the seven. Wang was born into a noble family in Donghan. Cai Yi, a high-ranking official, thought highly of Wang. After the rebellion of Dong Zhuo, Wang joined Liu Biao in the South, but was not given the opportunity to excel his full potential. He later joined Cao Cao and became a high-ranking official.

There is a saying in Chinese, 'Dao Ji Xiang Ying', which involved Wang and Cai. One time when Cai was in the midst of a party in Changan, Wang came to visit him. Cai was in such a hurry to greet Wang that he put on his shoes backward. All his guests were surprised. At that time Cai was a well-known official and Wang was merely a teenager. This showed how much respect Cai had in Wang, something that Cai's guests could never understand.

One day, Cai went for a picnic with his friends, and Wang was among them. They saw a tombstone by the road side. Cai asked everyone to read the contents and hurried them to hit the road. After a while, Cai asked, 'Who can recite the contents of the tombstone?' Only Wang could recite it without missing one word. Although the guests were surprised, they suspected Wang memorized the writing on the tombstone ahead of time. After a few months, Cai was seen playing a game of Weiqi with one of his guests. Cai won the game in 265 moves by one point. When they were discussing the game, they messed up the position accidentally. Wang volunteered to replay the game, and he did so without missing a single move. It was then that Cai's guest believed Wang had exceptional memory.

Wang's had left behind the following publications, Weiqi Fuxu and DanqiFuxu.