Wang Dao (; 276 – 7 September 339), courtesy name Maohong (茂弘), formally Duke Wenxian of Shixing (始興文獻公), was a Chinese politician during the Jin dynasty who played an important role in the administrations of Emperor Yuan, Emperor Ming, and Emperor Cheng, including as Emperor Cheng's regent. In these capacities, he served as a crucial governing figure of the Eastern Jin Dynasty during its first decades, as well as the leading member of the prominent Wang clan of Langya, especially after the death of his rebellious cousin Wang Dun. His governance style was to be lenient with the laws, and he handed out few punishments—which stabilized the Jin regime greatly, but which also led to extensive, if moderate, corruption and incompetence in the Jin regime, making it difficult for Jin armies to recapture northern China.
Wang's line, during the subsequent Southern Dynasties, was known as one of the two most honored lines of nobles—the other being Xie An's line—and in the people's minds no less honored than imperial households.
Early career Wang Dao's grandfather Wang Lan (王覽) and father Wang Cai (王裁) were mid-level Jin Dynasty officials, and he inherited from them the title Viscount of Jiqiu. He was the grandnephew of Wang Xiang. When he was young, during the late reign of Emperor Hui, he served on the staff of Sima Yue the Prince of Donghai. During that time, he befriended Sima Rui the Prince of Langye. It was at Wang's suggestion that Sima Rui slipped out of the capital Luoyang and stayed safe during most of the War of the Eight Princes in his Principality of Langye. When Sima Yue later became regent for Emperor Huai and commissioned Sima Rui to be the military commander for the area southeast of the Yangtze River, posted to Jianye (建業, modern Nanjing, Jiangsu), Wang volunteered to serve on Sima Rui's staff, and he became Sima Rui's chief advisor.
As Sima Rui lacked fame, after he arrived in Jianye, few of the powerful local gentlemen would come visit and support him. Under Wang Dao's counsel, Sima Rui personally visited He Xun (賀循) and Gu Rong (顧榮) and invited them to serve in his administration. He and Gu were well regarded by the local population, which eventually began to trust Sima Rui's leadership. Wang Dao and his cousin, the general Wang Dun, served in key roles, and it was said at the time that the domain was ruled equally by the Simas and the Wangs. Around the time that Luoyang fell to Han-Zhao and Emperor Huai was captured (July 311), large numbers of refugees fled to Sima Rui's domain. Wang assisted Sima Rui in settling the refugees and strengthening his rule. After Emperor Min was also captured by Han, Wang was one of the officials who urged Sima Rui to take the throne, and he did, initially claiming the title "Prince of Jin" in 317 and then emperor in 318 after Emperor Min was executed by Han.
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, 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 Wei 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), Boren died because of me!(吾虽不杀伯仁，伯仁由我而死) Jin Shu, vol. 69
Wang Dao also noticed that Emperor Yuan's court initially had no court historian. As such, he recommended Gan Bao for the position, which was accepted by Emperor Yuan.(中兴草创，未置史官，中书监王导上疏曰：“夫帝王之迹，莫不必书，著为令典，垂之无穷。宣皇帝廓定四海，武皇帝受禅于魏，至德大勋，等踪上圣，而纪传不存于王府，德音未被乎管弦。陛下圣明，当中兴之盛，宜建立国史，撰集帝纪，上敷祖宗之烈，下纪佐命之勋，务以实录，为后代之准，厌率土之望，悦人神之心，斯诚雍熙之至美，王者之弘基也。宜备史官，敕佐著作郎干宝等渐就撰集。”元帝纳焉。宝于是始领国史。) Jin Shu, vol.82 (biography of Gan Bao)
Wang Dao continued to serve Emperor Yuan faithfully until Emperor Yuan's death in January 323.
During Emperor Ming's reign Emperor Yuan was succeeded by his son and crown prince Sima Shao (Emperor Ming), who trusted Wang Dao's faithfulness and made him his prime minister. Later, when Emperor Ming faced Wang Dun's forces in 324, Wang Dao contributed greatly to defeating Wang Dun's force by falsely claiming that Wang Dun was dead—a claim that the army believed because he was Wang Dun's cousin and which gave the army high morale. Before Emperor Ming's death in October 325, he made Wang Dao one of the officials he entrusted his four-year-old son Sima Yan with.
During Emperor Cheng's reign After Sima Yan took the throne (as Emperor Cheng), several officials who were named in Emperor Ming's will were put in charge—that included Wang Dao, Sima Yang (司馬羕) the Prince of Xiyang, Bian Kun (卞壼), Xi Jian, Yu Liang, Lu Ye (陸瞱), and Wen Jiao. However, quickly, Yu Liang, as the brother of Emperor Cheng's mother Empress Dowager Yu, became effectively the most powerful among them, as Empress Dowager Yu became regent. Wang's role in government continued to be important, however.
In 327, the ambitious general Su Jun, offended by Yu Liang's attempt to strip him of his military command, rebelled along with Zu Yue, and Su's forces quickly captured Jiankang in early 328, taking Empress Dowager Yu and Emperor Cheng hostage and forcing Yu to flee. Wang, who remained in Jiankang, continued to be respected by Su, but secretly ordered the provincial forces to resist Su. As Tao Kan and Wen gathered their forces and marched against Su's, Wang persuaded Su's general Lu Yong (路永) to defect to Tao and Wen, and Wang and Lu fled Jiankang together, joining Tao and Wen's forces. Later that year, Su was killed in battle, and in early 329, his remaining forces were defeated. As Empress Dowager Yu died during Su's rebellion, most officials requested Wen stay in Jiankang to serve as regent, but Wen, believing that Emperor Ming intended for Wang to be regent, declined and gave the post to Wang.
For the next few years, Wang was largely in control of the government, but Yu Liang, who had then exiled himself from the capital as the governor of Jing Province (荊州, modern Hubei and Hunan), continued to be influential despite his distance from the capital. In 338, Yu, unhappy that, in his view, Wang was not adequately preparing Emperor Cheng to rule, tried to persuade Xi Jian to jointly act with him to depose Wang, but Xi refused. Wang stayed regent until his death in 339, and he was buried with great honors, including some ceremonies that were ordinarily reserved for emperors. He was succeeded by his assistant He Chong (何充) and Yu Liang's younger brother Yu Bing (庾冰). Anecdotes When Huan Yi (father of Huan Wen) first reached Sima Rui's domain from the north, he saw the weak Eastern Jin court and expressed his despair to Zhou Yi. However, he then met Wang Dao and the pair talked about current affairs. When Huan next met Zhou, he told the latter, "I have met Guan Yiwu; I am no longer worried."(晋国既建，以导为丞相军谘祭酒。桓彝初过江，见朝廷微弱，谓周𫖮曰：“我以中州多故，来此欲求全活，而寡弱如此，将何以济！”忧惧不乐。往见导，极谈世事，还，谓𫖮曰：“向见管夷吾，无复忧矣。”) Jin Shu, vol.65
Once, both Wang Dao and Wang Dun attended a banquet; the host was known to execute any female servant who failed to persuade her assigned guest to empty his cup. When Wang Dao was being served, he forced himself to drink, even though he was not good with alcohol. In contrast, Wang Dun refused to drink.(石崇每要客燕集，常令美人行酒，客饮酒不尽者，使黄门交斩美人。王丞相与大将军尝共诣崇，丞相素不能饮，辄自勉彊，至于沉醉。每至大将军，固不饮，以观其变。已斩三人，颜色如故，尚不肯饮。丞相让之，大将军曰：“自杀伊家人，何预卿事！”) Shishuo Xinyu, vol.30(他日，又造恺，恺使美人行酒，以客饮不尽，辄杀之。酒至敦、导所，敦故不肯持，美人悲惧失色，而敦傲然不视。导素不能饮，恐行酒者得罪，遂勉强尽觞。导还，叹曰：“处仲若当世，心怀刚忍，非令终也。”) Jin Shu, vol.98
Notes
References
Book of Jin, vol. 65 Zizhi Tongjian, vols. 85, 86, 87, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96.