Wong Bo Showed Off His Talent 王勃显能

Wang Bo 王勃

Wang Bo (ca. 648–675), courtesy name Zi'an, was a poet in the Tang Dynasty. He is one of the Four Literary Eminences in Early Tang. He opposed the spread of the Gong Ti Style of the Sui Dynasty, and advocated a style rich in emotions. His fame was boosted by the publishing of Preface to the Prince of Teng's Pavilion, a poem which is widely recognised as one of the finest Tang Dynasty poems. The style of this poem greatly influenced later generations of poets. His poem, titled ‘Seeing Du Shaofu off to His Post in Shu Zhou’, is widely recognised as one of the masterpieces of poetry of the Tang Dynasty. The line in this poem, ‘A bosom friend afar brings a distant land near’, has become a famous and frequently quoted phrase throughout the ages. It has touched the hearts of ancient and modern people.

The story of his writing of the poem was told by Wang Dingpao in his book ‘Anecdotes of the Tang Dynasty’ as follows:

When Wang Bo (648-675) wrote his masterpiece ‘Preface to the Prince of Teng's Pavilion’, he was only fourteen years old. Knowing little about him, the governor Yan of Hongzhou did not recognise the lad’s talent. Although he had invited Wang to the celebration for rebuilding of the tower, has asked his son-in-law, a scholar called Meng, to write for the occasion a composition which in fact was prepared beforehand.

When all the guests had assembled for the event, they were invited (as a matter of courtesy) to prepare a composition, and only Wang accepted. Yan was furious. He rose, and told a servant to watch what Wang was writing and report to him immediately. The first sentence came to his ears: ‘This tower in the former capital, Nanchang, is now the new centre of Hongzhou.’ This was nothing special, he thought.

The second sentence arrived: ‘In the sky, fight above this place, are the stars Yi and Zhen; on the earth, this spot is connected with the famous mountains Heng and Lu.’ This couplet moved Yan to silent thought.

Then the following sentence soon reached his ears: ‘The evening clouds drift with a solitary goose in company, and the hue of the autumn river blends with that of the endless sky.’ On hearing this, Yan jumped up, shouting: ‘What a talent! This couplet will be remembered forever!’

Hurriedly he invited Wang Bo to have dinner together, and they had a wonderful time.

Text of Preface to the Prince of Teng's Pavillion 《滕王阁序》全文

王勃（大约648-675），字子安，是唐代诗人。他是初唐四杰之一。他反对宫体诗风的流行，推行感情丰富的风格。他的《滕王阁序》提高了他的声名。这首诗赋至今还为中学生所读。

五代王定保的《唐摭言》中叙述他写《滕王阁序》的故事：

Prince of Teng's Pavillion 滕王阁

王勃著《腾王阁序》，年十四，都督阎公不之信，勃虽在座，而阎公意属于婿孟学士为之，已宿构矣。

及以纸笔巡让宾客，勃不辞让。公大怒，拂衣而起，专令人伺其下笔。第一报云：‘豫章故郡，洪都新府。’ 公曰：‘亦是老生常谈。’

又报云：‘星分翼轸，地接衡庐。’公闻之，沉吟不语。

又云：‘落霞与孤鹜齐飞，秋水共长天一色。’瞿然而起曰：‘此真天才，当垂不朽矣！’

遂亟请宴所，极欢而罢。