Guan Bo (關播) (719 – February 4, 797[1][2]), courtesy name Wuyuan (務元), was an official of the Chinese Tang dynasty, serving as a chancellor during the reign of Emperor Dezong.
His family was from Wei Prefecture (衛州, in modern Puyang, Henan) and claimed ancestry from the late Han dynasty general Guan Yu.
During the subsequent reign of Emperor Xuanzong's son Emperor Suzong, when the general Deng Jingshan (鄧景山) served as the military governor (Jiedushi) of Huainan Circuit (淮南, headquartered in modern Yangzhou, Jiangsu), Deng invited Guan to serve as a secretary under him.
Guan subsequently returned to the capital Chang'an to serve in the imperial guard corps, and then as You Bujue (右補闕), a low-level official at the legislative bureau of government (中書省, Zhongshu Sheng).
When Li Lingyao (李靈曜) rebelled against imperial authority in 776 and seized nearby Biansong Circuit (汴宋, headquartered in modern Kaifeng, Henan), Chen was one of the generals commissioned against Li Lingyao, but as he commanded the troops against Biansong, the bandits in his own circuit were rampaging.
While serving at that post, he suggested that learned officials be put in charge of the various treasuries, which had previously been overseen by unlearned technicians; it was said that this change was followed later to the benefit of the state.
As Emperor Dezong's trusted chancellor Lu Qi viewed Guan as mild in temperament and easy to control, he repeatedly recommended Guan, who successively served as the minister of civil service affairs (吏部侍郎, Libu Shilang) and minister of justice (刑部尚書, Xingbu Shangshu).
On one occasion, when Emperor Dezong was meeting with the chancellors, Guan heard a proposal that he considered inappropriate, and was ready to rise and speak against it, Lu gave him a look that caused him to hesitate.
[5] It was also said, however, that Guan lacked judgment in the characters of others, and he endeared himself to a number of junior officials who bragged about their own abilities, including Li Yuanping (李元平), Tao Gongda (陶工達), Zhang Sun (張愻), and Liu Chengjie (劉承誡).
[3] In fall 783, soldiers from Jingyuan Circuit (涇原, headquartered in modern Pingliang, Gansu), at Chang'an to await deployment to the east, mutinied after not receiving awards that they believed they deserved.
Emperor Dezong fled to Fengtian (奉天, in modern Xianyang, Shaanxi), initially taking only his family members and a small group of eunuchs and imperial guards with him.
[6] A Tang aid force, commanded by the generals Du Xiquan (杜希全), Dai Xiuyan (戴休顏), Shi Changchun (時常春), and Li Jianhui (李建徽), was approaching Fengtian and requesting imperial instructions on which way to advance into the city.
After he returned, Emperor Dezong wanted to make him the minister of defense (兵部尚書, Bingbu Shangshu), but he declined on account of illness and offered to resign.