Wang Dao - During Emperor Yuan's Reign

During Emperor Yuan's Reign

Initially, Wang Dao continued to serve as chief advisor for Emperor Yuan, but after Emperor Yuan began to have a falling out with Wang Dao's powerful cousin Wang Dun over Wang Dun's domination of the western provinces, he also began to distance himself from Wang Dao. When Wang Dun finally rebelled in 322 and attacked the capital Jiankang (renamed from Jianye because of naming taboo of Emperor Min's name), Wang Dao feared that his clan would be slaughtered, and he and his clan members went to the palace door to beg for their lives. Initially, Emperor Yuan would not see them. When Wang Dao asked Zhou Yi (周顗), an official who had once compared him to Guan Zhong, to intercede on his behalf, Zhou did and persuaded Emperor Yuan that Wang Dao was not involved in Wang Dun's rebellion—but in order to not make Wang Dao grateful for him, he chose not to respond to Wang Dao but instead cursed Wang Dun when Wang Dao begged him, causing Wang Dao to believe that he, like Liu Huai (劉隗) and Diao Xie (刁協), wanted to exterminate the Wang clan. Wang Dao did not find out what Zhou had done for him. Later, after Wang Dun successfully captured Jiankang, forcing Emperor Yuan to submit to him, he asked Wang Dao what he thought of Zhou, and Wang Dao said nothing—so Wang Dun executed Zhou. Later, when Wang found out from imperial archives the petitions that Zhou had submitted on his behalf, he mourned and gave a famous quote, which later became a Chinese idiom:

Although I did not kill Boren (伯仁, Zhou Yi's courtesy name), Boren died because of me!

Wang Dao continued to serve Emperor Yuan faithfully until Emperor Yuan's death in 323.