Wang Weiyi was a chief physician at the Hanlin Academy, held the title of Chaosan Dafu (朝散大夫) and a post in the Department of the Palace (殿中省).
Replacing paper models with this three-dimensional apparatus was a great improvement in teaching and examination: the outside of the bronze statue was first covered with wax to seal the acupoints and water (or mercury) was poured inside the dummy.
[1] Wang also participated in the revision of a Han dynasty classic medical work, The Yellow Emperor's Canon of Eighty-One Difficult Issues.
In 1030,[1] he overlooked engraving of his treatise on stone tablets placed in a temple in Kaifeng (the capital of the empire, that time known as Bianjing, 汴京).
A 2014 film produced by CCTV6[c] and directed by Fang Junliang, Master of Needles (天下第一针), depicts Wang Weiyi's life, with actor Zhai Xiaoxing in the main role.