王勃的一生行迹（650-676）
王勃（650-676），字子安，绛州龙门（今山西河津）人，初唐四杰之首。六岁善文辞，十四岁对策高第，曾任沛王府侍读、虢州参军。上元二年（675年）南下探父途经南昌，写下千古名篇《滕王阁序》，次年渡海赴交趾，不幸溺亡于南海，年仅二十七岁。
龙门（绛州）（650） · 龙门神童
唐高宗永徽元年（650年），王勃出生于绛州龙门一个儒学世家。祖父王通是隋末大儒，号"文中子"，叔祖王绩是著名隐士诗人。王勃六岁即善属文，九岁读颜师古注《汉书》撰《指瑕》十卷，被誉为神童。
长安（664） · 京师扬名
唐高宗麟德元年（664年），右相刘祥道巡行关内，年仅十五岁的王勃上书自陈才学，刘祥道览奏惊叹，上表举荐。王勃应幽素科对策高第，授朝散郎，成为朝廷最年轻的命官之一，文名震动长安。
长安·沛王府（667） · 京师扬名
唐高宗乾封二年（667年），王勃经人引荐入沛王李贤府中为侍读，深受沛王器重。王府文酒之会，王勃屡屡即席赋文，才倾四座。然总章二年（669年）诸王斗鸡，王勃戏作《檄英王鸡文》，高宗见之震怒，斥其挑拨诸王，当即逐出王府。
成都（670） · 蜀虢漂泊
唐高宗咸亨元年（670年），被逐出京的王勃远游巴蜀，客居成都、汉州一带近两年。巴蜀的雄奇山水与漂泊的羁旅愁思交织，他写下大量诗文，并与蜀中才俊唱和，这段经历使他的文风由清丽转向深沉。
虢州（671） · 蜀虢漂泊
唐高宗咸亨二年（671年），王勃自蜀东归，求补虢州参军。任上他藏匿一名有罪的官奴曹达，后又惧事泄将其杀死，事发当诛，幸遇大赦除名。其父王福畤受牵连，由雍州司功参军贬为交趾县令，王勃自此绝意仕途。
南昌（675） · 南行绝笔
唐高宗上元二年（675年）九月九日，王勃南下交趾探父途经南昌，适逢都督阎伯屿重修滕王阁大宴宾客。王勃即席挥毫写下《秋日登洪府滕王阁饯别序》，"落霞与孤鹜齐飞，秋水共长天一色"满座皆惊，阎公叹服："此真天才，当垂不朽矣！"
广州（676） · 南行绝笔
唐高宗上元三年（676年）夏，王勃抵达岭南门户广州，由此登海船转赴交趾。唐代赴安南多自广州出海，沿海岸西南行。一路烟波万里，迁客孤舟，他在沿途写下多首纪行诗，字里行间既有对老父的牵挂，也有远谪天涯的苍凉。
南海（676） · 南行绝笔
唐高宗上元三年（676年）八月，王勃乘船渡海赴交趾，途中遭遇风暴，堕海惊悸而卒，年仅二十七岁（一说渡海后遇风溺亡）。一代天才陨落于南海波涛，消息传回中原，文士无不痛惜。
The Life Journey of Wang Bo, First of the Four Paragons
Wang Bo (c. 650-676), of Longmen in Jiangzhou, grandson of the Sui Confucian master Wang Tong, was first and briefest of the 'Four Paragons of the Early Tang.' A named official at fifteen, expelled from a prince's palace for a mock manifesto on fighting cocks, a criminal at twenty-two for sheltering a slave — and at twenty-six, passing Nanchang on the way to his exiled father, he wrote the 'Preface to the Pavilion of Prince Teng' in one sitting: 'The sunset cloud and the lone duck fly together; the autumn water and the long sky share one color.'
Timeline of the Journey
- 650 · Longmen — Born into the Wang line of scholars — a Confucian grandfather, a hermit-poet granduncle. At six he composed; at nine he wrote ten books of corrections to the standard Han-shu commentary.
- 664 · Chang'an — Fifteen, letters of self-recommendation to the great, the special examination passed with distinction: Gentleman of the Court of the Loose Cavaliers, youngest named official of the reign.
- 667 · Pei's palace — Reader-companion to Prince Pei; verses at every banquet — until 669, when his mock war-manifesto against Prince Ying's fighting cock reached the emperor. 'Sowing discord among my sons' — expelled.
- 670 · Chengdu — West into Shu, two years of mountains and exile poems among the Chengdu and Hanzhou notables; the style deepening from brilliance into shadow.
- 671 · Guozhou — A guardsman's post at Guo: he sheltered a fugitive slave, then killed him, was condemned and reprieved — and his father demoted to Jiaozhi for the son's crime. Ambition abandoned.
- 675 · Nanchang — The ninth day of the ninth month: passing through to his father, he found Governor Yan's feast for the rebuilt Pavilion of Prince Teng, took the brush, and wrote the age's matchless piece. 'A true genius — he will be immortal.'
- 676 · Guangzhou — Out the sea-gate of the south toward Annam; the traveler's poems along the coast already tasting of distance and the end of the world.
- 676 · The South Sea — A storm, the sea, convulsions: dead at twenty-seven. All Chang'an mourned the briefest of its geniuses.
'If you have a friend within the four seas, the horizon itself is your neighbor.' Twenty-seven years, one preface, one couplet — Wang Bo compressed a lifetime into lines no dynasty could wear out.
