Wang Bo (649 or 650–676) was a renowned literary figure of the Tang dynasty. His courtesy name was Zi’an, and he was from Longmen, Jiangzhou (present-day Hejin, Shanxi). At the age of nine, after reading Yan Shigu’s annotated version of theBook of Han, he composed a ten-volume critique titled Zhi Xia (“Pointing Out Flaws”), identifying its errors. In 665, he passed the imperial examination. Later, he served as an assistant military officer in Guozhou but was sentenced to death for unlawfully killing a government slave; he was eventually pardoned but stripped of his official status. His father was demoted to magistrate of Jiaozhi (in present-day northern Vietnam) due to this incident. While traveling south to visit his father, Wang Bo drowned during a sea crossing on his return journey and died from shock and exposure.
Wang Bo excelled in both poetry and prose and was widely celebrated in his time. He is grouped with Yang Jiong, Lu Zhaolin, and Luo Binwang as one of the “Four Literary Eminences of the Early Tang.”
On his way south to visit his father, Wang Bo passed through Nanchang just as Governor Yan Boyu of Hongzhou was hosting a grand banquet to celebrate the completion of the newly rebuilt Tengwang Pavilion (Pavilion of Prince Teng). Yan had secretly asked his son-in-law to prepare a pre-written preface to showcase his talent before the guests. At the banquet, Yan feigned modesty by offering paper and brush to the attendees, inviting them to compose a preface – each guest politely declined. When it came to Wang Bo, however, he accepted the brush without hesitation.
Annoyed, Yan Boyu left the hall under the pretense of changing clothes but instructed a subordinate to report back on what Wang Bo wrote. When the first lines – “Yuzhang, the old commandery; Hongdu, the new metropolis” – were reported, Yan dismissed them as cliches. Upon hearing the next couplet – “Its stars align with the constellations Yi and Zhen; its land borders Mount Heng and Mount Lu” – he remained silent. But when the line “The sunset glow flies together with a lone wild goose; autumn waters blend seamlessly with the endless sky” was relayed, Yan exclaimed in admiration: “He is a genius!”
This piece became the celebrated Preface to the Tengwang Pavilion (Preface to the Pavilion of Prince Teng or Tengwang Ge Xu). Famous Chinese idioms such as “wu hua tian bao” (natural splendor and heavenly treasures), “ren jie di ling” (land blessed with outstanding people and spiritual energy), “jun cai xing chi” (brilliant talents shining like stars), “sheng you ru yun” (distinguished friends gather like clouds), “gao peng man zuo” (the hall is filled with noble guests), and “yi xing tu fei” (soaring poetic inspiration) all originate from this essay.
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