The Selected Poems of Wang Wei

by Wang Wei, David Hinton (Translator)

David Hinton, whose much-acclaimed translations of Li Po and Tu Fu have become classics, now completes the triumvirate of China's greatest poets with The Selected Poems of Wang Wei . Wang Wei (701-761 C.E.) is often spoken of, with his contemporaries Li Po and Tu Fu, as one of the three greatest poets in China's 3,000-year poetic tradition. Of the three, Wang was the consummate master of the short imagistic landscape poem that came to typify classical Chinese poetry. He developed a nature poetry of resounding tranquility wherein deep understanding goes far beyond the words on the page―a poetics that can be traced to his assiduous practice of Ch'an (Zen) Buddhism. But in spite of this philosophical depth, Wang is not a difficult poet. Indeed, he may be the most immediately appealing of China's great poets, and in Hinton's masterful translations he sounds utterly contemporary. Many of his best poems are incredibly concise, composed of only twenty words, and they often turn on the tiniest a bird's cry, a splinter of light on moss, an egret's wingbeat. Such imagistic clarity is not surprising since Wang was also one of China's greatest landscape painters. This is a breathtaking poetry, one that in true Zen fashion renders the ten thousand things of this world in such a way that they empty the self even as they shimmer with the clarity of their own self-sufficient identity.

Genres: Poetry, China, Chinese Literature, Classics, Asia, Literature, School

116 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Wang Wei (Chinese: 王維, 699-761) was a Chinese poet, painter, musician, and politician of the Tang dynasty, widely regarded as one of the most accomplished and influential literary figures of his time. Known for his mastery of both poetry and painting, he was a key figure in the development of Chinese landscape poetry and art, particularly in the fusion of poetry and painting, a concept later described by critics as embodying "poetry within a painting, and a painting within poetry." His work, deeply influenced by Buddhist thought, particularly Chan (Zen) Buddhism, is characterized by themes of nature, solitude, and contemplation.
A prolific poet, Wang Wei wrote nearly 400 poems, 29 of which were included in the celebrated anthology Three Hundred Tang Poems. His poetic style was known for its elegant simplicity, evocative imagery, and deep emotional resonance. His mastery of the jueju (quatrain) form, especially his landscape poetry, set a standard that influenced generations of poets and artists. Though none of his paintings have survived, his influence on Chinese landscape painting was profound, and his artistic techniques and themes were emulated by later painters, particularly in the literati tradition.
Born into an aristocratic family, Wang Wei demonstrated exceptional literary and artistic talent from a young age. He achieved the highest rank in the imperial examination and enjoyed a successful, though at times turbulent, career as a government official. His later years were deeply shaped by the political upheavals of the An Lushan Rebellion, during which he was briefly held captive by rebel forces. Following his release, he withdrew further into Buddhist practice, dividing his time between official duties and the solitude of his estate in Lantian, where he wrote some of his most famous works.
Wang Wei's legacy endures in both Chinese and world literature. His poetry has been widely translated and studied, influencing poets and writers across cultures, including the Japanese haiku tradition and Western literary figures such as Ezra Pound and Gustav Mahler. His artistic vision, emphasizing the harmonious unity of nature and human spirit, remains a cornerstone of Chinese aesthetic philosophy.

Reviews

[emma]

It feels weird to try to rate a collection of ancient Chinese poetry from the 700s c.e. on the internet in the year 2017, so all I'm really gonna say is this: these poems are beautiful. They conjure up such vivid imagery of mountains, rivers, and bamboo forests, of wild places and solitude. There's an overwhelming feeling of peace to the writing, a simplicity and emotional depth that made me want to drop everything and spend the rest of the day painting landscapes.

I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed these, and by how much power these words still hold even 1300 years after they were written. It made me feel very small in a really lovely way, if that makes any sense—this little book is a reminder of how far-reaching and meaningful art can be, even across centuries and continents.

[Markus · Rating 5 out of 5]

WANG WEI
The Selected Poems

« After so many years, I’m suddenly old,
And each day my hair turns whiter still

But wandering here, a glance between
All heaven and earth, who stays long?

In these twilight years, I love tranquillity
Alone. Mind free of all ten thousand affairs,

Self-regard free of all those grand schemes,
I return to my old forest, knowing empty.

No one’s ever changed white hair back;
Might as well try conjuring yellow gold.

A lone old man bone-tired and dragon-slow,
I reach this temple of ch’an stillness asking

The meaning of minds meaning—but soon
Far off, know emptiness is an empty disease.

If you want to elude the old-age disease,
There is only one way: study unborn life.

I cared enough for Way in middle age,
So now I’m settled beside South Mountain.

That healthy glow of youth fades into the dusk of old age,
A child’s dangling tufts transformed in a trice to white hair.

A single lifetime, and so many things to wound this heart:
If you don’t enter the empty gate---where will you get free? “

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I assembled these lines in freestyle from the last page reading back towards the front,
It is easy since every two lines are poetry on its own.

I identify myself with the old poet.
Everything fits, body and soul.

[Clay Wackerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poems that look small but feel so spacious. Would recommend reading under a tree or near a body of water. 💚

[Robert Sheppard · Rating 5 out of 5]

WHAT EVERY EDUCATED CITIZEN OF THE WORLD NEEDS TO KNOW IN THE 21ST CENTURY: INTRODUCTION TO THE IMMORTAL TANG DYNASTY POETS OF CHINA----LI BAI (LI PO), DU FU (TU FU), WANG WEI AND BAI JUYI-----THE MEETING OF THE BUDDHIST, TAOIST AND CONFUCIAN WORLDS-----FROM THE WORLD LITERATURE FORUM RECOMMENDED CLASSICS AND MASTERPIECES SERIES VIA GOODREADS—-ROBERT SHEPPARD, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF



The Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD) is considered the "Golden Age" of Chinese poetry and a time of cultural ascendency when China was considered the pre-eminent civilization in the world. At its commencement Chang'an (modern Xian) its capital with over one million inhabitants was the largest city on the face of the Earth and a vibrant cosmopolitan cultural center at the Eastern end of the Eurasian "Silk Road" when Europe had declined into the fragmented "Dark Ages" of the post-Roman Empire feudal era and the "Islamic Golden Age" of the Abbasid Caliphate was just beginning to rise to rival it with the construction of its new and flourishing capital at Baghdad. China itself had suffered a similar fragmentation and decline with the fall of the Han Dynasty, equal in scope and splendor to the contemporaneous Roman Empire, but with the comparative difference that Tang China had acheived reunification while Europe remained disunited and had lost much of its Classical Greek and Roman heritage, only to be recovered with the Renaissance. Tang Dynasty China by contrast was in a condition of dynamic cultural growth and innovation, having both retained its Classical heritage of Confucianism and Taoism but also assimilated the new spiritual energy of the rise of Buddhism, at the same time the European world assimilated the spiritual influence of Christianity and the Muslim world that of Islam.

Into this context were born four men of poetic genius who in the Oriental world would come to occupy a place in World Literature comparable to the great names of Dante and Shakespeare: Li Bai (Li Po), Du Fu (Tu Fu), Wang Wei and Bai Juyi. All of these geniuses were influenced by the three great cultural heritages of China: Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism, just as Western writers such as Dante and Shakespeare were influenced by the three dominant Western Heritages of Greek Socratic rationalism, Roman law and social duty and Christian spirituality and moral cultivation. It was during the Tang Dynasty that Chinese culture became fully Buddhist, especially with the translations of Buddhist Scripture brough back from India by Xuanzong, the famous monk-traveller celebrated in the "Journey to the West." Each poet was influenced by all three heritages, but with perhaps one heritage on the ascendant in each man in accordance with his temperament and worldview, with Du Fu emphasizing the social conscience and duty of Confucianism in his poetry, Li Bai the free spirit and dynamic natural balances of Taoism, and Wang Wei and Bai Juyi emphasizing the Buddhist ethos of detachment from this world and overcoming desire in quest of spiritual enlightenment.



THE GLORIOUS TANG DYNASTY---HIGH POINT OF CHINESE CIVILIZATION


The Tang Dynasty, with its capital at Chang'an, then the most populous city in the world, is generally regarded as a high point in Chinese civilization—equal to, or surpassing that of, the earlier Han Dynasty—a Second Golden Age of cosmopolitan culture. Its territory, acquired through the military campaigns of its early rulers, rivaled that of the Han Dynasty. In censuses of the 7th and 8th centuries, the Tang records estimated the population at about 50 million people, rising by the 9th century to perhaps about 80 million people, though considerably reduced by the convulsions of the An Lu Shan Rebellion, making it the largest political entity in the world at the time, surpassing the earlier Han Dynasty's probable 60 million and the contemporaneous Abbasid Caliphate's probable 50 milliion and even rivaling the Roman Empire at its height, which at the time of Trajan in 117 AD was estimated at 88 million. Such massive populations, economic and cultural resources would not be matched until the rise of the nations and empires of the modern era.

With its large population and economic base, the dynasty was able to support a large proportion of its population devoted to cultural accompishments as well as a government, Civil Service administration, scholarly schools and examinations, and raise professional and conscripted armies of hundreds of thousands of troops to contend with nomadic powers in dominating Inner Asia and the lucrative trade routes along the Silk Road. Various kingdoms and states paid tribute to the Tang court, and were indirectly controlled through a protectorate system. Besides political hegemony, the Tang also exerted a powerful cultural influence over neighboring states such Korea, Japan, and Vietnam, with much of Japanese culture, government, literature and religion finding its model and origin in Tang Dynasty China.

In this global Medieval Era we can say with fairness that while Europe went into fragmentation and decline until the Renaissance the two pre-eminent centers of world civilization were Chang'an of the Tang Empire and Baghdad of the Abbasid Caliphate and the Islamic Golden Age. Two incidents characterize the interaction of these two Medieval "Superpowers," and also affected literary production of the age: The Battle of Talas and the An Lu Shan Rebellion. The Battle of Talas of 751 AD was the collision of the two expanding superpowers, the Tang and the Abbasid Muslims, which in the defeat of the Tang Empire's armies resulted first in the halt of its expansion along the Silk Road towards the Middle-East, and secondly, in the important transfer of Chinese paper-making technology through captured artisans from China to the Arabs, an important factor fueling the Islamic Golden Age and its literature. The An Lu Shan Rebellion, arising out of the doomed love affair of the Tang Emperor Xuanzong and the Imperial Concubine Yang Gui Fei disrupted all of China, perhaps causing the deaths of 20-30 million people, and affecting the personal lives and writings of all the poets including Li Bai, Wang Wei and Du Fu. It also was the occasion of the Abbasid Caliph sending 4000 cavalry troops to help the Tang Emperor suppress the rebellion, a force that permanently settled in China and became a catalyst for growth of the Muslim population in China and Muslim-Tang cultural interpenetration along the Silk Road. It also became the subject of the Tang poet Bai Juyi's immortal epic of the Emperor, the Rebellion and the tragic death of the beautiful Imperial Concubine, Yang Gui Fei in "The Song of Everlasting Sorrow."


THE COALESCING OF THE CONFUCIAN, TAOIST AND BUDDHIST WORLDS: THE PARABLE OF THE THREE VINEGAR TASTERS


The Parable of "The Three Vinegar Tasters" is a traditional subject in Chinese religious painting. and poetry. The allegorical composition depicts the three founders of China's major religious and philosophical traditions: Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism. The theme in the painting has been variously interpreted as affirming the harmony and unity of the three faiths and traditions of China or as favoring Taoism relative to the others.


The three sages of the tale are dipping their fingers in a vat of vinegar and tasting it; one man reacts with a sour expression, one reacts with a bitter expression, and one reacts with a sweet expression. The three men are Confucius, Buddha, and Lao Zi, respectively. Each man's expression represents the predominant attitude of his religion and ethos: Confucianism saw life as sour, in need of rules, ritual and restraint to correct the degeneration of the people; Buddhism saw life as bitter, dominated by pain and suffering, slavery to desire and the false illusion of Maya; and Taoism saw life as fundamentally good in its natural state. Another interpretation of the painting is that, since the three men are gathered around one vat of vinegar, the "three teachings" are one.


CONFUCIANISM

Confucianism saw life as sour, in need of rules, social discipline and restraint to correct the degeneration of people; the present was out of step with a more "golden" past and that the government had no understanding of the way of the universe—the right response was to worship the ancestors, purify and support tradition, instil ethical understanding, and strengthen social and family bonds. Confucianism, being concerned with the outside world, thus viewed the "vinegar of life" as "adulterated wine" needing social cleansing.


BUDDHISM

Buddhism was founded by Siddhartha Gautama, who first pursued then rejected philosophy and asceticism before discovering enlightenment through meditation. He concluded that we are bound to the cycles of life and death because of tanha (desire, thirst, craving). During Buddha's first sermon he preached, "neither the extreme of indulgence nor the extremes of asceticism was acceptable as a way of life and that one should avoid extremes and seek to live in the Middle Way". "Thus the goal of basic Buddhist practice is not the immediate achievement of a state of "Nirvana" or bliss in some heaven but the extinguishing of tanha, or desire leading to fatal illusion. When tanha is extinguished, one is released from the cycle of life---birth, suffering, death, and rebirth---only then can one achieve Nirvana.

One interpretation is that Buddhism, being concerned with the self, viewed the vinegar as a polluter of the taster's body due to its extreme flavor. Another interpretation for the image is that Buddhism reports the facts are as they are, that vinegar is vinegar and isn't naturally sweet on the tongue. Trying to make it sweet is ignoring what it is, pretending it is sweet---living for illusion or Maya---is denying what it is, while the equally harmful opposite is being overly disturbed by the sourness. Detachment, reason and moderation are thus required.

TAOISM

Taoism saw life as fundamentally good in its natural state.
From the Taoist point of view, sourness and bitterness come from the interfering and unappreciative mind. Life itself, when understood and utilized for what it is, is sweet, despite its occasional sourness and bitterness. In "The Vinegar Tasters" Lao Zi's (Lao Tzu) expression is sweet because of how the religious teachings of Taoism view the world. Every natural thing is intrinsically good as long as it remains true to its nature. This perspective allows Lao Zi to experience the taste of vinegar without judging it, knowing that nature will restore its own balance transcending any extreme, via Yin and Yang and "The Dao," the underlying Supreme Creative Dialectic driving all things and human experiences.




LI BAI (LI PO), SUPREME TANG DYNASTY LYRICIST AND TAOIST ADEPT




Li Bai (701-762) came from an obscure, possibly Turkish background and unlike other Tang poets did not attempt to take the Imperial Examination to become a scholar-official. He was infamous for his exuberant drunkenness, hard partying and "bad boy" romantic lifestyle. In his writing he chose freer forms closer to the folk songs and natural voice, though laced with playful fancy, as in the famous example of his lyric conversations with the moon. He frequented Taoist temples and echoed the Taoist embrace of the natural human emotions and feelings; that connection got him an appointment to the Imperial Court, but his misbehaviour soon ended in his dismissal. Nonetheless, he became famous and invited into the best circles to recite his works. He emphasized spontanaeity and freedom of expression in his works, yet created works of extraordinary depth of feeling:


Drinking Alone With the Moon

A pot of wine amoung the flowers.
I drink alone, no friend with me.
I raise my cup to invite the moon.
He and my shadow and I make three.

The moon does not know how to drink;
My shadow mimes my capering;
But I'll make merry with them both---
And soon enough it will be Spring.

I sing--the moon moves to and fro.
I dance--my shadow leaps and sways.
Still sober, we exchange our joys.
Drunk--and we'll go our separate ways.

Let's pledge---beyond human ties---to be friends,
And meet where the Silver River ends.



Popular legend has it that Li Bai died in such a drunken fit, carousing alone on a boat on a like, when he, drunk, leaned overboard to embrace the reflecion of the moon in the waters, and drowned.



DU FU---SUPREME POET OF SOCIAL CONSCIENCE AND ENLIGHTENED CONFUCIAN SPIRIT


Du Fu (712-770) was the grandson of a famous court poet, and took the Imperial Examination twice, but faied both times. His talent for poetry became known to the emperor, however, who arranged a special examination to allow his admittance as a court scholar-official. His outspoken social conscience, denunciation of injustice and insistence on following the pure ideals of Confucianism however, alienated higher officials and his career was confined to minor posts in remote provinces, and his travels and observations were often the occasion of his poetry. He acutely rendered human suffering, particularly of the common people, and his stylistic complexity and excellence made him the "poet's poet" as well as the "people's poet" for centures, as exemplified in his famous "Ballad of the Army Carts:"


Ballad of the Army Carts


Carts rattle and squeak,
Horses snort and neigh---
Bows and arrows at their waists, the conscripts march away.
Fathers, mothers, children, wives run to say good-bye.
The Xianyang Bridge in clouds of dust is hidden from the eye.
They tug at them and stamp their feet, weep, and obstruct their way.
The weeping rises to the sky.
Along the road a passer-by
Questions the conscripts. They reply:

They mobilize us constantly. Sent northwards at fifteen
To guard the River, we were forced once more to volunteer,
Though we are forty now, to man the western front this year.
The headman tied our headcloths for us when we first left here.
We came back white-haired---to be sent again to the frontier.
Those frontier posts could fill the sea with the blood of those who've died.
In county after county to the east, Sir, don't you know,
In villiage after villiage only thorns and brambles grow.
Even if there's a sturdy wife to wield the plough and hoe,
The borders of the fields have merged, you can't tell east from west.
It's worse still for the men from Qin, as fighters they're the best--
And so, like chickens or like dogs they're driven to and fro.

Though you are kind enough to ask,
Dare we complain about our task?
Take, Sir, this winter. In Guanxi
The troops have not yet been set free.
The district officers come to press
The land tax from us nonetheless.
But, Sir, how can we possibly pay?
Having a son's a curse today.
Far better to have daughters, get them married---
A son will lie lost in the grass, unburied.
Why, Sir, on distant Qinghai shore
The bleached ungathered bones lie year on year.
New ghosts complain, and those who died before
Weep in the wet gray sky and haunt the ear.




WANG WEI--SCHOLAR-OFFICIAL, "RENAISSANCE MAN" AND BUDDHIST POET



Wang Wei was one of the most prominent poets of the Tang Dynasty, but also a famous painter, calligrapher and musician. He hailed from a distinguished scholar family, passed the highest Imperial Examination with honors and worked his way up the bureaucratic heirarchy, often assuming posts in far-away provinces. His poems displayed the high court poetic style--witty, urbane and impersonal, reinforced by the Buddhist detachment and equanimity of his religious beliefs. He became influential at the royal court until being captured in the An Lu Shan Rebellion, he was forced to work for the usurping Emperor, then punished by the reinstated Emperor. In accordance with Chan (Zen) Buddhism his work reflects the detached and melancholy view of transitory life seen as illusion. His official travels involving years of absence or threatened death far from home were often the occasion of many of of his poems:


Farewell to Yuan the Second on His Mission to Anxi

In Wei City mornibng rain dampens the light dust.
By the travelers' lodge, green upon green---the willows color is new.
I urge you to drink up yet another glass of wine:
Going west from Yang Pass, there are no old friends.





BAI JUYI (BO JUYI), AUTHOR OF THE "SONG OF EVERLASTING SORROW," TALE OF THE DOOMED LOVE OF THE EMPEROR XUANZONG AND THE BEAUTIFUL IMPERIAL CONCUBINE YANG GUI FEI




Bai Juyi (772-846) of a later generation from the other three poets, passed the Imperial Examination with honors and served in a variety of posts. He, like Du Fu, took seriously the Confucian mandate to employ poetry as vehicle for social and political protest against injustice. He also, like Bai Juyi, tried to simplify and make more natural and accessible his poetic voice, drawing closer to the people. His most immortal classic is the "Song of Everlasting Sorrow" which presents in verse the epic tragic tale of the great love affair between Emperor Xuanzong and his Imperial Concubine, Yang Gui Fei, reminiscent of the tragedy of Romeo an Juliet, which ended during the An Lu Shan Rebellion as the army accused her of distracting the Emperor from his duties and corruption and demanded her death. The poem relates how the Emperor sent a Taoist priest to find his dead lover in heaven and convey his devotion to her and her answer:

"Our souls belong together," she said, "like this gold and this shell--
Somewhere, sometime, on earth or in heaven, we shall surely meet."
And she sent him, by his messenger, a sentence reminding him
Of vows which had been known only to their two hearts:
"On the seventh day of the Seventh-month, in the Palace of Long Life,
We told each other secretly in the quiet midnight world
That we wished to fly in heaven, two birds with the wings of one,
And to grow together on the earth, two branches of one tree."...
Earth endures, heaven endures; sometime both shall end,
While this unending sorrow goes on and on forever.




SPIRITUS MUNDI AND CHINESE LITERATURE




My own work, Spiritus Mundi, the contemporary epic of social idealism featuring the struggle of global idealists to establish a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly for global democracy and to head off a threatened WWIII in the Middle-East also reflects the theme of the Confucian ethic that literature should contribute to social justice and public morality. Like Du Fu it abhors the waste, suffering, social irresponsibility and stupidity of war. Like Li Bai it celebrates the life of nature and human emotions, including sexuality. About a quarter of the novel is set in China, and one of its principal themes is a renewal of spirituality across the globe.


World Literature Forum invites you to check out the great Chinese Tang Dynasty poetic masterpieces of World Literature, and also the contemporary epic novel Spiritus Mundi, by Robert Sheppard. For a fuller discussion of the concept of World Literature you are invited to look into the extended discussion in the new book Spiritus Mundi, by Robert Sheppard, one of the principal themes of which is the emergence and evolution of World Literature:


For Discussions on World Literature and n Literary Criticism in Spiritus Mundi: http://worldliteratureandliterarycrit...


Robert Sheppard


Editor-in-Chief
World Literature Forum
Author, Spiritus Mundi Novel
Author’s Blog: http://robertalexandersheppard.wordpr...
Spiritus Mundi on Goodreads:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17...
Spiritus Mundi on Amazon, Book I: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CIGJFGO
Spiritus Mundi, Book II: The Romance http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CGM8BZG


Copyright Robert Sheppard 2013 All Rights Reserve

[Holly Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved these poems. The only reason I’m giving four stars instead of five is that the word usage and subject matter is repetitive. Honestly though, the poems are beautiful and have great ambience. I feel the translations likely don’t do the originals justice but I enjoyed them nonetheless. My favorite poem by far was “On Climbing Up to P’ei Ti’s Small Terrace”. It effectively communicated the relationship between friends and the distance between people and their mindsets. I would recommend these poems to anyone who prefers simplistic, ambient poems that focus on nature or loneliness.

[Pawee Kongcheep · Rating 4 out of 5]

中岁颇好道， 晚家南山陲。

兴来美独往， 胜事空自知。

行到水穷处， 坐看云起时。

偶然值林叟， 谈笑无还期。

My heart in middle age found the Way

And I came to dwell at the foot of this mountain.

When the spirit moves, I wander alone

Amid beauty that is all for me.

I will walk till I meet place where water ends

Then sit and watch the rising clouds.

And some day meet an old wood-cutter

And talk and laugh and never return.

[Sreena · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The birds have vanished into the sky,
and now the last cloud drains away.
We sit together, the mountain and me,
until only the mountain remains."

This poem, like many others in the collection, reflects Wang Wei's profound appreciation for solitude and his ability to merge with nature. It reminds us to embrace the present moment and find solace in the simplicity of our surroundings.Another noteworthy aspect of this collection is the translator's skill in preserving the essence of Wang Wei's Chinese verses. The translator's choice of words and phrases retains the delicate nuances and artistic integrity of the original poems. It allows readers like me, who may not be familiar with the Chinese language (Though I have watched a lot of Chinese movies and dramas), to connect with the poet's emotions and intentions on a profound level.

[elena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wang Wei writes poems the way a landscape arranges itself at dawn: quietly with impeccable architecture.

His mastery of regulated verse is less constraint and more a tuned instrument. The five character line becomes a bamboo flute, each syllable placed with calligraphic precision. Parallelism in his couplets does not merely balance meaning but creates a visual symmetry, as if mountains were answering rivers across white space. His imagery is spare yet saturated, ink wash rather than oil paint allowing silence to function as structure.

For Wang Wei, emptiness is not absence but design. Form and meditation share the same breath.

[J.M. Hushour · Rating 4 out of 5]

As succinct and beautiful as poetry can probably be, Wang Wei exemplifies that blissful simplicity that any poet strives for. His economy of breath doesn't truncate his wit or lyricism, though. These poems are carefully crafted gestures at a deeper, intrinsic meaning, but weightless, without the heaviness of symbol and morbidly obese language.

[Melissa Helton · Rating 4 out of 5]

The poet lived 701-761 CE, so the book offers a big foreword and many notes to help us understand the imagery, symbolism, and the philosophy of the poet. This was a nice, meditative read, and the notes were very helpful (for example how white clouds mean a mindless tranquility, a gate being opened or closed is a reflection of a person's level of hermit-ness, etc.).

[Stéphanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have been reading a few poems from this book before going to bed for a while now. Most of them are about nature, which I think makes them timeless. Sometimes bit difficult simply because I didn't really understand the context (the poems were written in the 8th century ce in China), but that is simply my own fault.

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really like the imagery of the landscape poetry, but I couldn't shake the feeling that I was only able to access a fraction of the poems' meaning in English.

The endnotes were unmarked! How did that pass editorial review?

[Ommiolgi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wang Wei (701-761) a central figure in early Chinese landscape painting poet tradition. A focused Cha’an practitioner, these poems are rich in meaning and steeped in the hermit/recluse tradition as of the time.

Would certainly recommend

[Margaret · Rating 3 out of 5]

These nature poems by Chinese poet Wang Wei (701-761 C.E.) speak of the quietude of the mountains, and in simple tasks. I think I enjoyed the introduction and closing analysis more than the poems themselves, though I appreciate them.

[Clare Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

New favourite poet.

[Karene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a pleasure to read.

[Sam Albala · Rating 4 out of 5]

Always prefer when the originals are with the translation, but still always a delight to read Wang Wei

[Jes Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

The poems are pretty awesome, and Hinton's translation, introduction, and footnotes are contextually helpful, as usual.

[D.J. Desmond · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting and unique poetry, but not for me.

Recommended if you enjoy poetry about nature

[Matt Miles · Rating 5 out of 5]

More deceptively small masterpieces of beauty, loneliness, grief, loss, and nature.

[Taylor Swift Scholar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating ancient Chinese poetry in translation is hard. Some of these were beautiful meditations on loss and absence, some of them were forgettable. I suspect they are all better in Chinese.

[Jane Rutherford · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read Harder Challenge 2017 - Task 23 - Read a collection of poetry in translation on a theme other than love. Second book for this task. I am counting the other one, I Am The Beggar of the World as my official read for this task.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Discovered this author this past summer, a poet from the Tang dynasty in China. If you love uncluttered compositions this guy is for you. His writings resound with Taoist philosophy. Perhaps his word pictures can be called "landscapes or dreamscapes of the mind". His writings led me to other Chinese poets of the same traditions, like Li Po and Tu Fu. A significant discovery.

[Edward Rathke · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite kind of poetry: simple and beautiful.

Most of the poems take place in nature, with civilization far in the distance. There's a quietness to it. A stillness. But nature becomes larger. So much greater than human acts. Even the narrator of these poems disappears in the immensity of nature, in the mountains and streams that define this collection.

[Frederick Gault · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great poet. Not so keen on Hinton's translations. Also, IMHO, it's nice to have the Chinese characters with a literal translation so one can look for rhymes and see what the translator is working with.

[George · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, and David Hinton's translations of Wang Wei are strikingly accomplished in capturing Wang's neutrality of perception through his practice of Zen and cultivation of the Tao.

[Rain · Rating 5 out of 5]

He's one of my favourite poets. His poems as beautiful as ink wash paintings

[Arthur Rosenfeld · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Hinton's work.

[Hailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow!