Nitrogen and oxygen enriched hierarchically porous carbons (NOHPCs) derived from biomass have been successfully prepared by rapid microwave carbonization coupled with molten salt synthesis method in only 4 min. ZnCl2 plays important roles as microwave absorber, chemical activation agent and porogen in this process. NOHPC-1:10 sample possesses the maximum specific surface area of 1899 m(2) g(-1) with a pore volume of 1.16 cm(3) g(-1) and mesopore ratio of 70%, as well as nitrogen content of 5.30 wt% and oxygen content of 14.12 wt%. When evaluated as an electrode in a three-electrode system with 6 M KOH electrolyte, the material exhibits a high specific capacitance of 276 F g(-1) at 0.2 A g(-1), with a good rate capability of 90.9% retention at 10 A g(-1). More importantly, the symmetric supercapacitor based on NOHPC-1:10 in 1 M Na2SO4 electrolyte exhibits a high energy density of 13.9 Wh kg(-1) at a power density of 120 W kg(-1) in a wide voltage window of 0-1.6 V, an excellent cycling stability with 95% of capacitance retention after 10,000 cycles. Our strategy provides a facile and rapid way for the preparation of advanced carbon materials derived from biomass towards energy storage applications. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.