骆宾王的一生行迹（626-684）
骆宾王（约626-684后下落不明），字观光，婺州义乌（今浙江义乌）人，初唐四杰之一。七岁作《咏鹅》传诵千古，历任道王府属、侍御史，因事下狱作《在狱咏蝉》，后贬临海丞。光宅元年（684年）从徐敬业扬州起兵讨武则天，作《代李敬业传檄天下文》，兵败后下落不明，或传为僧于杭州灵隐寺。
义乌（626） · 江南少年
唐高祖武德九年（626年），骆宾王出生于婺州义乌一户寒素人家。他自幼聪颖过人，相传七岁时见村中池塘白鹅戏水，随口吟出《咏鹅》一诗，乡人惊为神童，此诗至今仍是孩童启蒙必读之作。
博昌（635） · 江南少年
唐太宗贞观九年（635年）前后，少年骆宾王随出任青州博昌县令的父亲迁居博昌。数年后父亲卒于任上，家道中落，骆宾王奉母移居兖州瑕丘，寓居齐鲁，在穷困中发愤读书，度过青年时代。
兖州（655） · 齐鲁落魄
唐高宗永徽六年（655年）前后，骆宾王入道王李元庆幕府为属官，后因不愿"奉使自媒"而辞，落魄齐鲁，寓居兖州一带十数年。其间他以诗文会友，与卢照邻等唱和往来，虽生活困顿而文名日著。
蒲类津（670） · 宦海沉浮
唐高宗咸亨元年（670年），吐蕃陷西域，唐军出师征讨，骆宾王投笔从戎，随军远赴西域，行经蒲类津（今新疆巴里坤）等塞上要地。朔漠风沙、金戈铁马的军旅生涯，使他的诗风为之一变，写下大量苍凉雄浑的边塞诗篇。
长安（678） · 宦海沉浮
唐高宗仪凤三年（678年），骆宾王由长安主簿入朝为侍御史。他性格刚直，屡次上书议论朝政，触怒当权，被人罗织罪名诬以贪赃，下狱候审。狱中闻蝉声凄切，他借蝉自喻，写下《在狱咏蝉》以明心迹。
临海（680） · 宦海沉浮
唐高宗调露二年（680年），骆宾王遇赦出狱，被贬为台州临海县丞。他自长安远赴东海之滨，仕途蹭蹬，意兴阑珊，在临海任上怏怏不得志，不到两年便弃官而去，漫游广陵（扬州）一带。
扬州（684） · 讨武失踪
唐睿宗光宅元年（684年）九月，柳州司马徐敬业（李敬业）于扬州起兵讨伐武则天，骆宾王被辟为艺文令，掌管书檄，写下《代李敬业传檄天下文》。檄文历数武氏罪状，天下传诵，十一月兵败，骆宾王下落不明。
杭州（684） · 讨武失踪
唐睿宗光宅元年（684年）十一月，扬州兵败，徐敬业被杀，骆宾王从此下落成谜：《旧唐书》记其"伏诛"，《新唐书》记"亡命不知所之"，《资治通鉴》记"与敬业俱死"。又有传闻说他亡命江湖，剃度为僧，隐于杭州灵隐寺。
The Life Journey of Luo Binwang, the Child of the Goose
Luo Binwang (c. 626-after 684), of Yiwu, was reciting 'Goose, goose, goose — you bend your neck to sing to the sky' at seven, one of the Four Paragons of Early Tang at thirty, and in prison at fifty-two writing the cicada's 'dew-heavy wings' in his own voice. At fifty-eight he wrote the manifesto against Wu Zetian — she herself said it was a pity such talent was not hers — then vanished at Yangzhou's fall, into legend.
Timeline of the Journey
- 626 · 义乌 — Born poor in Yiwu; the pond, the white geese, and the five lines a child made immortal.
- 635 · 博昌 — Father's county post at Bochang — then his death; mother and son stranded in the north, 'the days of my former life' a single long poem.
- 655 · 兖州 — Into Prince Dao's establishment — but he would not 'boast on commission,' quit, and drifted a dozen poor years around Qilu.
- 670 · 蒲类津 — Tibet took the Western Territories; Luo went to war — Kulun-wan, the desert stages: 'the western wind, the evening at Pulei ford' — a gentleman-soldier of the first Tang campaigns.
- 678 · 长安 — Investigating censor, upright and vocal; framed for graft, jailed — 'the cicada on the wing, heavy with dew, none believes its pure hunger.'
- 680 · 临海 — Amnestied down to assistant magistrate of Linhai by the eastern sea — 'long a stranger in Linhai,' the taste of everything going out.
- 684 · 扬州 — Xu Jingye's rising against the empress; Luo, master of documents, wrote the manifesto heard round the empire: 'the soil on the first emperor's tomb is not yet dry' — Wu Zetian herself asked who had written it.
- 684 · 杭州 — The rising broke in November; Luo vanished. Executed, drowned, or hidden as a monk at Lingyin — the histories disagree, and the temple's night-visitor legend keeps all three alive.
'Goose, goose, goose — curved neck singing to the sky.' From a child's goose to an empire's manifesto, one straight, loud, unlucky voice — the Four Paragons' best banner-man, lost exactly as he lived: mid-sentence.
