A life–changing event for Wang occurred in 1506.  A eunuch who had assumed illegitimate influence at court had several able officials imprisoned for opposing him.  Wang wrote a “memorial” to the emperor in protest.  The eunuch responded by having Wang publicly beaten and exiled to an insignificant position in a semi–civilized part of what is now Guizhou Province.  Wang had to face considerable physical and psychological hardship in this post, but through these challenges he achieved a deep philosophical awakening (1508), which he later expressed in a poem he wrote for his students: