本文考察歷代唐詩選本中王昌齡詩之選錄梗概，欲勾勒「七絕聖手」之所由。揆諸史料，唐宋元六百年間龍標詩以五古為宗，七絕為次。但至明初高棅《唐詩品彙》，趨勢一轉，龍標七絕在文人視域中佔據高位，五古則逐漸消失在文人視野。至清代中葉後，選錄狀況又為之一變，於《唐詩別裁集》、《手批唐詩選》中，王昌齡七絕、五古呈雙峰並峙，七絕略高之態。又曠觀史論，李白絕句乃「唐三百年一人」，然「七絕聖手」之稱卻為王昌齡所奪，此間隱微仍待商榷。職是之故，筆者考察「七絕聖手」之脈絡，是知此乃由明末胡應麟、許學夷等人開始形塑，清代沈德潛、喬億賡續之，終由潘德輿提出「聖手」一詞，七絕聖手遂脈流渠成。而此亦影響李白與王昌齡七絕優劣之論，王、李優劣概分為三，李優王劣、王優李劣、王李比肩。有明一朝，李白以非人力可及之七絕為勝，時入清代，因入聖意象形塑完成，王李比肩成學術主流，甚有王優李劣之論。綜論之，七絕為宗之跡象以唐詩選本為先，經明代選本推波助瀾，「七絕聖手」之論明末方興，而有清一代，唐詩選本重七絕趨勢未改，聖手之論亦逐漸衡定，兩者之間，可謂桴鼓相應。

This paper discussed how Wang Chang Ling’s poems were selected into Tang poetry anthology over the various dynasties in an attempt to provide a general idea about how Wang’s fame of “Poet Laureate of Seven-Character Poems” was established. According to a comprehensive review of historical data collected in Tang, Sung and Yuan Dynasties, five-character poems were regarded as the canon of poetry form while seven-character poems were considered less important. This point is judged from the major type of Wang’s poems selected into anthology published before Yuan was five-character poem. However, in Gao Bing’s Collection of Tang Poetry of the early Ming Dynasty, selection criteria were reversed when litterateurs regarded Wang’s seven-character poems as his most distinguished poetry form and started to lose their interests in his five-character poems from then on. In the middle period of Qing Dynasty, selection criteria were changed once again. According to Analogy of Tang Poetry and Criticisms of Tang Poems, both of Wang Chang Ling’s seven-character poems and five-character poems were regarded as his most distinguished poetry forms although seven-character poems was a little more popular. This article also explore the context of Wang’s fame of “Poet Laureate of Seven-Character Poems” in an attempt to find out how this title came into existence. According to the research results, a number of litterateurs such as Hu Ying Lin and Xu Xue Yi came up with various titles similar to “Shengshou”(聖手，Poet Laureate) in the late Ming Dynasty. In Qing Dynasty, litterateurs such as Shen De Qian and Chao Yi continued to introduce various titles related to “Divine Master.” Eventually, “Shengshou” was officially settled by Pan Te Yu. This is how Wang Chang Ling was entitled as “Poet Laureate of the Seven-Character Poem”.