Wang Bao
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Wang Bao ( 84 53 BCE),
courtesy name A courtesy name (), also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This practice is a tradition in the East Asian cultural sphere, including China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.Ulrich Theobald ...
Ziyuan (子淵), was a Chinese poet during the Western Han Dynasty. He was well versed in the
Classical Chinese poetry Classical Chinese poetry is traditional Chinese poetry written in Classical Chinese and typified by certain traditional forms, or modes; traditional genres; and connections with particular historical periods, such as the poetry of the Tang dyn ...
tradition. He was involved in the ''
Chu Ci The ''Chu ci'', variously translated as ''Verses of Chu,'' ''Songs of Chu'', or ''Elegies of Chu'', is an ancient anthology of Chinese poetry including works traditionally attributed mainly to Qu Yuan and Song Yu from the Warring States period ...
'' poetry revival which took place in the second part of Emperor Xuan's reign, and which led to the creation of poetry that would eventually form part of the early poetry anthology by the same name, compiled by Wang Yi. ''Chu Ci'' means "literature of Chu", Chu being the area of a former independent kingdom, located in what was from the viewpoint of the Han Dynasty the south of China. Wang Bao is particularly known today as the author of the ''Chu Ci'' section "
Nine Regrets "Nine Regrets" () is the 11th of the 17 major sections of the ancient Chinese poetry collection ''Chu ci'', also known as ''The Songs of the South'' or ''The Songs of Chu''. The "Nine Regrets" consists of nine verses plus an envoi (''luan''), each i ...
". His poetry was not as famous as "''
Li Sao "''Li Sao''" (; translation: "Encountering Sorrow") is an ancient Chinese poem from the anthology ''Chuci'' traditionally attributed to Qu Yuan. ''Li Sao'' dates from the late 3rd century BCE, during the Chinese Warring States period. Backgrou ...
''" or "
Heavenly Questions The ''Heavenly Questions'' or ''Questions to Heaven'' () is a piece contained in the Classical Chinese poetry collection of ''Chu Ci'', which is noted both in terms of poetry and as a source for information on the ancient culture of China, espec ...
". Indeed sometimes
Qu Yuan Qu Yuan ( – 278 BCE) was a Chinese poet and politician in the Chu (state), State of Chu during the Warring States period. He is known for his patriotism and contributions to Classical Chinese poetry, classical poetry and verses, ...
has been credited as the author of his poetry (as have all the ''Chu Ci'' contents) . Wang Bao's works were included in one of the two major early anthologies of Chinese poetry which has helped to secure Wang Bao's legacy as a poet and author. Wang Bao became famous during the reign of
Han Dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...
emperor Emperor Xuan (r. 74 BCE – 49 BCE), and he attended the courts of the emperor and the prince, his presumptive heir.


Biography


Early years

Wang Bao was a native of
Ziyang Ziyang () prefecture-level city in eastern Sichuan province, China. It is bordered by the provincial capital of Chengdu to the northwest, Deyang to the north, Suining to the northeast, Chongqing municipality to the east, and Neijiang to the west ...
, in
Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...
: the Sichuan area was then known as Shu and was one of the remote parts of the territory of the
Han Empire The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...
. One of Wang Bao's songs incorporating lyrics which he wrote by commission from a local official in praise of the Han government and which were then set to music was eventually performed for emperor Xuan, who quite enjoyed the performance, particularly the lyrics, and summoned Wang by imperial command to attend him at court . He was received as a court poet, with an honorary position as a government officer (with a nominal title but real salary), and where his continued literary success at the imperial court derived from his exercise of his talent for combining lyricism and flattery.


Attending the emperor

While at the court, the poems of the ''Chuci'' style returned to fashion for some years, a revival in which Wang Bao was a participant. Wang was assigned to cheer up the heir apparent who was suffering from depression, reciting his writings until the prince felt better: most successful in this regard were a couple of his '' fu'' (or rhapsodies, as they are sometimes known), "The Flute" and "The Ganquan Palace": the ''fu'' on the Ganquan Palace () was written about the Summer resort favoured by Emperor Wu and other emperors of the Han. The actual Ganquan palace was located in what is now Chunhua County, of
Xianyang Xianyang () is a prefecture-level city in central Shaanxi province, situated on the Wei River a few kilometers upstream (west) from the provincial capital of Xi'an. Once the capital of the Qin dynasty, it is now integrated into the Xi'an metrop ...
region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
,
Shaanxi Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see #Name, § Name) is a landlocked Provinces of China, province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichu ...
province,
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
: the site of its remains are one of the
Major National Historical and Cultural Sites A Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National LevelEnglish translation for "全国重点文物保护单位" varies, it includes Major Site (to Be) Protected for Its Historical and Cultural Value at the National Level, Major Histo ...
of Shaanxi.


Death

However, after a few years he was ordered back to Shu, upon reports that a green rooster and a golden horse had appeared in the hills or mountains near Yizhou. While on his mission, assigned by Xuandi to bring the alleged golden horse to the capital, Wang became ill and died, to Xuandi's sorrow. Wang Bao was a contemporary of Liu Xiang; however, specific biographic dates for him are not available through the known surviving historical records, but the period in which he wrote the ''Chuci'' pieces should be between 60 and 50 BCE.


Works

Wang Bao wrote the "
Nine Regrets "Nine Regrets" () is the 11th of the 17 major sections of the ancient Chinese poetry collection ''Chu ci'', also known as ''The Songs of the South'' or ''The Songs of Chu''. The "Nine Regrets" consists of nine verses plus an envoi (''luan''), each i ...
", consisting of nine poems in the " Song (''Shijing'')" style, plus a ''luan'' (
envoi Envoi or envoy in poetry is used to describe: * A short stanza at the end of a poem such as a ballad, used either to address an imagined or actual person or to comment on the preceding body of the poem. * A dedicatory poem about sending the book ...
), which were incorporated into the ''Chu ci'' anthology, as its 11th section. Wang Bao is also known for writing in the '' fu'' style, which was particularly popular during the Han Dynasty. "The Slave's Contract" is an example of humorous writing, in which Wang Bao somewhat cruelly pretends to propose the purchase of a certain irascible old slave, presenting an extended account of the onerous list of duties to which the slave would then be responsible to perform.Hawkes, 269


See also

*
Chu ci The ''Chu ci'', variously translated as ''Verses of Chu,'' ''Songs of Chu'', or ''Elegies of Chu'', is an ancient anthology of Chinese poetry including works traditionally attributed mainly to Qu Yuan and Song Yu from the Warring States period ...
*
Fu (poetry) ''Fu'' (), often translated "rhapsody" or "poetic exposition", is a form of Chinese rhymed prose that was the dominant literary form during the Han dynasty (206AD220). ''Fu'' are intermediary pieces between poetry and prose in which a place, o ...
*
List of Chuci contents This is a list of the sections and individual pieces contained within the ancient poetry anthology ''Chu Ci'' (), also known as ''Songs of the South'' or ''Songs of Chu'', which is an anthology of Classical Chinese poetry verse traditionally attr ...
*
Liu Xiang (scholar) Liu Xiang (77–6BCE), born Liu Gengsheng and bearing the courtesy name Zizheng, was a Chinese astronomer, historian, poet, politician, librarian, and writer of the Western Han Dynasty. Among his polymathic scholarly specialties were history, l ...
*
Nine Regrets "Nine Regrets" () is the 11th of the 17 major sections of the ancient Chinese poetry collection ''Chu ci'', also known as ''The Songs of the South'' or ''The Songs of Chu''. The "Nine Regrets" consists of nine verses plus an envoi (''luan''), each i ...
*
Qu Yuan Qu Yuan ( – 278 BCE) was a Chinese poet and politician in the Chu (state), State of Chu during the Warring States period. He is known for his patriotism and contributions to Classical Chinese poetry, classical poetry and verses, ...
*
Shu (state) Shu () was an ancient state in what is now Sichuan Province. It was based on the Chengdu Plain, in the western Sichuan basin with some extension northeast to the upper Han River valley. To the east was the Ba tribal confederation. Further east ...
*
Wang Yi (librarian) Wang Yi (; ), courtesy name Shushi (), was a Chinese poet during the Eastern Han dynasty who was employed in the Imperial Library by the Later Han emperor Shun Di (). Wang Yi is known for his work on the poetry anthology ''Chu Ci''. Although w ...


Notes


References

* David Hawkes, translator and introduction (2011
985 Year 985 ( CMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Summer – Henry II (the Wrangler) is restored as duke of Bavaria by Empress Theoph ...
. Qu Yuan ''et al.'', ''The Songs of the South: An Ancient Chinese Anthology of Poems by Qu Yuan and Other Poets''. London: Penguin Books. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wang, Bao 1st-century BC Chinese poets Han dynasty poets Poets from Sichuan Writers from Ziyang