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Wang Wei was born into a wealthy family during the Tang dynasty and at twenty he was able to pass the civil service exams. During his time with the Tang dynasty the An Lushan rebellion had begun. Wang Wei and many other officials were captured by rebels and forced to work for their military. When everything settled and the rebels were stopped he was almost charged with collaboration with the rebels. His brother was able to get him out of those charges.
Other than being a well known statesman he was also a well known painter and poet during the Tang dynasty. His writing style was described as very ornate, but could bring about very deep and vivid thoughts when it comes to his surroundings. His writings could mirror the paintings he made with the amount of imagery used.

(A picture of Wang Wei recreated for his likeness.)

 

Wang River Collection

His imagery in his writings only continued once he bought land outside the capital that was called the “Wang River.” On this land there were many natural beauties and routes to walk along. Those beauties would give him his images and inspirations to write the “Wang River Collection.” Along with those he made many paintings. Some of the places along his routes were Meng Wall Cove, Huazi Hill, Grained Apricot Lodge, Clear Bamboo Range, and many more. There are four from the collection that will be focused on in this post though, those being: Deer Enclosure, Lake Yi, Gold Powder Spring, and White Rock Rapids. All of these works describe very scenic areas from his estate.

(A picture of one of Wang Wei’s original pieces in the British Museum.)

 

Deer Enclosure

“Empty mountain, no man is seen.
Only heard are echoes of men’s talk.
Reflected light enters the deep wood
And shines again on blue-green moss.”

For one of the first examples of his writings we have “Deer Enclosure.” In this verse there is a heavy emphasis on man not being in this area of his estate. Only nature and its light has touched this place. This poem has two main ways of being looked at, the first is as a beautiful description of nature on Wang Wei’s estate or I see it as a metaphor for his mind. As you read in the introduction Wang Wei was a well known statesman who was captured and forced to work for the rebels during the rebellion. I would imagine this taking a big toll on anyone’s mental state. After that anyone would want to escape to a quiet estate. In this verse there are no men around, but merely the echoes of what happened and the light that can touch the deep woods. He could have memories etched into his mind and echoes of the past.

 

Lake Yi

“Blowing flutes across the distant shore.
At day’s dusk I bid farewell to you.
On the lake with one turn of the head:
Mountain green rolls into white clouds.”

Then the next poem is describing the surrounding scenery of the lake on the property. I find this one particularly imaginative, because he doesn’t mention the way the water looks. He does however describe the surroundings of a lake, such as the shore around it and the clouds that are above. Each description still has an impact on how the reader will interpret the lake within their mind though. They might even picture different plants, or the shapes of the mountains and clouds.

 

Gold Powder Spring

“Drink each day at Golden Powder Spring
And you should have a thousand years or more:
To soar on the azure phoenix with striped dragons,
And with plumes and tassels attend the Jade Emperor’s court.”

When I first read the “Gold Powder Spring” my first thought was about his time in court. Many phrases throughout the short poem give an emphasis on power and what you could imagine good will towards and Emperor would sound like.
“The azure phoenix with striped dragons” and “plumes and tassels” is another interesting bit that Wang Wei used. First with the phoenix, people typically picture them as red or orange because of their association with fire. Here though Wang Wei uses “azure” which is a more blue color, so he is describing this phoenix and blue. I found this interesting because blue fire is hotter and more powerful than a normal red or orange flame. A second thought I had was how interesting the relationship between the phoenix and the dragon, and the plumes and tassels is. It is as if the phoenix and the dragon are dressing themselves down to be in the Emperor’s court.

 

White Rock Rapids

“Clear and shallow, White Rock Rapids.
Green rushes once could be grasped.
Families live east and west of the water,
Washing silk beneath the bright moon.”

Out of the four selections that the book gave us for this collection I find this one to be the most vivid. Wang calls this place the “White Rock Rapids”, but within the verse itself he uses the color green as well. This gives the rapids color and a more expansive area of effect. After that he brings in the families who possibly live nearby, we could make inferences about these families and why they chose to live near the rapids. Maybe it is for the “clear and shallow” water that it is always providing. These families could use silk in crafts and use the rapids to clean them “beneath the bright moon.” Even that gives us an idea of the possible clear skies of the area.

 

Final Thoughts

His poems are vivid with short verses that describe what is around him. With Wang Wei once being a painter this makes sense, because the world through a painter’s eyes I believe to be so much more lively. Painters need to have that understanding of how the world is sculpted and formed to be able to replicate it, like in his poems from the Wang River Collection. Like we saw, if you wanted to we could look deeper into his poems and his time captured by the rebels to relate those events and creativity.

Citations

“Album; Painting: British Museum.” The British Museum, www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/A_1913-1003-0-1-8.

The Norton Anthology of World Literature, by Martin Puchner et al., B, W.W. Norton & Company, 2018, pp. 1113–1116.

“Wang Wei (701–761).” Lapham’s Quarterly, www.laphamsquarterly.org/contributors/wang-we

As a manager of people, you have a role in UCO’s commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging. Part of that role requires you to administer a workplace that is unhostile and upholds the legal requirements of a manager. When considering how to be a strong supervisor, those requirements are only the starting point. Inclusive supervisors . . .  read more