Qin and Han · Official and Writer

Wang Bao 王褒

Attested BC 74 - BC 48

Passages: 16
Chapters: 3
Histories: 1

Overview

The translated histories identify Wang Bao as a named individual, official, poet, and writer. This record brings together 16 passages from 3 chapters across 1 history, with names, dates, relationships, offices, and events preserved as source-backed claims.

Names

Type	English	Chinese	Pinyin
Personal	Wang Bao	王褒	Wang Bao
Surname	Wang	王	Wang
Personal name	Wang Bao	王褒	Wang Bao
Courtesy	Ziyuan	子淵	Ziyuan
Surname		王	Wang
Textual variant		褎	Bao
Given		褒	Bao

Identity

Historicity: Historical
Identification: Named
Sex: Male

Sex: male
Explicit · hanshu:068:s0260

Roles

Named Individual
Official
Poet
Writer

Life and dates

Death

Description: died of illness on the road to Yizhou
Explicit · hanshu:075:s0200

Attested activity

Source Date: Text: 孝宣承統 · Western Interval: Start: BC 74 · End: BC 48
Explicit · hanshu:068:s0260

Career and standing

諫大夫
Explicit · hanshu:075:s0194

Places and affiliations

Label: Western Han / 漢 · Relation: served
Explicit · hanshu:068:s0260
Place: Shu
Explicit · hanshu:075:s0132

Works and attributed material

Works: Central Harmony, Joy in Duty, The Proclamation
Explicit · hanshu:075:s0136
Works: Sweet Springs, Eulogy on the Panpipes
Explicit · hanshu:075:s0198

Assessments and attributes

Assessment: distinguished in literary composition (文章) · Provenance: Mode: historian-judgment
Explicit · hanshu:068:s0260
Assessment: had achievements recounted in their age · Provenance: Mode: historian-judgment
Explicit · hanshu:068:s0260

References in the histories

Open any source group to read the Chinese and English passage in context.

Book of Han, Chapter 68Volume 58: Gongsun Hong, Bu Shi and Er Kuan · 1 passage

孝宣承統，纂修洪業，亦講論六藝，招選茂異，而蕭望之、梁丘賀、夏侯勝、韋玄成、嚴彭祖，尹更始以儒術進，劉向，王褒以文章顯，將相則張安世、趙充國、魏相、丙吉、於定國、杜延年，治民則黃霸、王成、龔遂、鄭弘、召信臣、韓延壽、尹翁歸、趙廣漢、嚴延年、張敞之屬，皆有功跡見述於世。 Emperor Xuan inherited the succession and carried forward the great enterprise. He too expounded the Six Arts and recruited outstanding men. Xiao Wangzhi, Liangqiu He, Xiahou Sheng, Wei Xuancheng, Yan Pengzu, and Yin Gengshi advanced through Confucian learning; Liu Xiang and Wang Bao gained distinction for their writing; among the generals and chancellors were Zhang Anshi, Zhao Chongguo, Wei Xiang, Bing Ji, Yu Dingguo, and Du Yannian; and among those who governed the people were Huang Ba, Wang Cheng, Gong Sui, Zheng Hong, Shao Xinchen, Han Yanshou, Yin Wengui, Zhao Guanghan, Yan Yannian, Zhang Chang, and others. All left achievements celebrated in their age.

Book of Han, Chapter 74Volume 64a: Yan, Zhu, Wuqiu, Zhufu, Xu, Yan, Zhong, Wang, and Jia 1 · 1 passage

卷六十四上嚴朱吾丘主父徐嚴終王賈傳第三十三上 Chapter 64a: Biographies of Yan Zhu, Zhu Maichen, Wuqiu Shouwang, Zhufu Yan, Xu Le, Yan An, Zhong Jun, Wang Bao, and Jia Yi (part one).

Book of Han, Chapter 75Volume 64b: Yan, Zhu, Wuqiu, Zhufu, Xu, Yan, Zhong, Wang, and Jia 2 · 14 passages

卷六十四下嚴朱吾丘主父徐嚴終王賈傳第三十三下 Volume 64b, Part Two: biographies of Yan An, Zhu Mai Chen, Wuqiu Shouwang, Zhufu Yan, Xu Le, Yan Cang, Zhong Jun, Wang Bao, and Jia Yi—the thirty-third set of biographies, lower scroll.

王褒字子淵，蜀人也。 Wang Bao, courtesy name Ziyuan, was a native of Shu.

於是益州刺史王襄欲宣風化於眾庶，聞王褒有俊材，請與相見，使褒作中和、樂職、宣布詩，選好事者令依鹿鳴之聲習而歌之。 The governor of Yizhou, Wang Xiang, hoped to bring moral suasion to the common people. Learning of Wang Bao's gifts, he invited him in and commissioned the poems 'Central Harmony,' 'Joy in Duty,' and 'The Proclamation,' then picked enthusiasts to set them to the tune of the 'Deer Call' ode and teach them by singing.

褒既為刺史作頌，又作其傳，益州刺史因奏褒有軼材。 Wang Bao had not only written the governor's celebratory verse but drafted his biography as well, and on that basis the governor reported Wang Bao's exceptional gifts to the capital.

上乃徵褒。 The emperor thereupon summoned Wang Bao to court.

既至，詔褎為聖主得賢臣頌其意。 Once he arrived, an edict instructed him to compose a rhapsody expounding the theme 'How a sage ruler wins worthy ministers.'

褒對曰： Wang Bao replied:

是時，上頗好神僊，故褒對及之。 The emperor was much taken with spirits and immortals at the time, so Wang Bao touched the theme in his answer.

上令褒與張子僑等並待詔，數從褒等放獵，所幸宮館，輒為歌頌，第其高下，以差賜帛。 The emperor kept Wang Bao and Zhang Ziqiao on the waiting roster and often took them along on the hunt. Wherever the royal party lodged, Wang Bao would compose a celebratory piece; the emperor ranked the poems and handed out silk according to merit.

頃之，擢褒為諫大夫。 Soon afterward Wang Bao was promoted to Grandee Remonstrant.

詔使褒等皆之太子宮虞侍太子，朝夕誦讀奇文及所自造作。 An edict sent Wang Bao and his colleagues to the heir apparent's quarters to divert and attend him, reading aloud day and night from rare literature and from their own compositions.

太子喜褒所為甘泉及洞簫頌，令後宮貴人左右皆誦讀之。 The heir especially loved Wang Bao's 'Sweet Springs' rhapsody and his 'Eulogy on the Panpipes' and ordered the palace ladies in attendance to memorize them.

後方士言益州有金馬碧雞之寶，可祭祀致也，宣帝使褒往祀焉。 Later a wizard reported that Yizhou held the spirits of the Golden Horse and Green Cock, which might be summoned by sacrifice. Emperor Xuan dispatched Wang Bao to conduct the rites.

褒於道病死，上閔惜之。 Wang Bao died of illness en route, and the emperor mourned his loss.