His works were also chosen by different Chinese textbooks, including his famous Love of Life - "Since choosing a distant destination, I have to march no matter there is rain or wind. Since aiming at the horizon, what I leave behind can only be a shadow."

Despite gradually losing the readership of the younger generation, Wang responded to the skepticism about his poems in an interview in 2008: "The acknowledgment of the people makes you a poet; you are nothing without the recognition of the people."

Besides being a successful poet, Wang also proved himself to be a versatile artist.

He had practiced calligraphy since 1993, first for signing autographs but later his works of calligraphy sold for several thousand yuan each.

In 2001, Wang started to learn composition, and wrote more than 400 pieces of music for classical Chinese poems. He also did traditional Chinese painting and was associated with literary and artistic creations at the Graduate School of Chinese National Academy of Arts.

"Different forms of art have much in common," wrote Wang in an article in 2006.

"I compose as if I am writing poems, and I paint as if I am creating music."

Wang's new book, a 100,000-word collection of his essays, poems, as well as calligraphy and paintings, was published earlier this month. But Wang, who was in intensive care at a Beijing hospital at the time, wasn't able to read the book.

It is titled, Youth on the Road.