⬅️ 唐诗 Tang Poems
Wang Bo (王勃，650-676 AD) was a Tang Dynasty poet. He was one of the Four Paragons of Early Tang (初唐四杰). Wang Bo showed his literary talent at early age. He could write poems at 6 and finished reading 6 Classics at 10. At age of 16, he passed the imperial examination and became the youngest official. Soon his talent made him well-known in the capital. Prince Li Xian (李贤) recruited Wang Bo to compile books. At that time cockfight was a popular game among princes. So for fun, Wang Bo composed an essay named Denunciation on Prince Ying's Cock. The emperor, mad at the essay, said:"That is talebearing and mischief." Wang Bo was therefore expelled from the palace. That was rather a quick end of Wang Bo's career, at least temporarily.
After spending some time in Sichuan, Wang Bo found an advisory position. Being self-conceited and pround of his talent, Wang Bo was a bully to his colleagues and subordinates. They hated him. Once a slave named Cao Da （曹达） broke the law. Wang Bo hid him at home. Later he was afraid that he would be turned in by his colleagues, so he killed the slave. That was an offence carrying death penalty. Although amnesty was granted to him at that time, official status was deprived from Wang Bo. He could never be an official-literati again. As the collective punishment, his father was demoted to be the magistrate of Jiaozhi (交趾，now Vietnam). In 676 AD, it was believed on his way back from a visit to his father, Wang Bo was drown in the south China sea. He was only 26 when he died.