Complete Works of Wang Mojie with Annotations

Author: Wang Wei (Tang)
Editor: Jiang Hong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1999-04-01
Features:
Excerpt:
Long suppressed in the study, the song reflects the national style. It is suitable for the Yuefu after dawn. At the twelfth night, I will observe the treasures stored in the stone chamber. The meeting of the Bailing Pavilion is now gone. Thus, I turn to my dear siblings, who have completed the compilation. The voice and deeds flourish, yet deep sorrow lingers.
According to the biography of Wang Wei in the Tang Shu by Liu Jun, Wang Wei, styled Mojie, was a native of Qiqi, Taiyuan. His father, Wang Chulian, served as the final Sima of Fenzhou. The family later moved to Pu, becoming part of the Hedong region. Wang Wei passed the imperial examination at the age of nine and was renowned for his filial piety toward his mother, Cui Shi. Together with his younger brother, Wang Jin, they were celebrated for their talent and learning. Their virtue and sibling harmony were admired by scholars. He served as Right Supplement, Left Censor, Libationer, and later as Minister of the Treasury. During his mother’s mourning, he neglected his appearance to the point of emaciation. After the mourning period, he was appointed as Minister of Personnel. In the late Tianbao era, he became a Chancellery Attendant. When An Lushan captured the two capitals, Emperor Xuanzong fled west, but Wang Wei could not join the imperial escort and was captured by the rebels. He pretended to be mute by taking medicine to induce diarrhea, and An Lushan, who had long admired him, sent someone to bring him to Luoyang and detained him in Pushi Temple. An Lushan forced him to take a false post and hosted a banquet for his subordinates at Ningbi Palace. The performers were all from the Imperial Opera and the Music Bureau. Hearing this, Wang Wei was deeply moved and secretly composed a poem:
"Wild smoke rises from the grieving homes,
When will officials return to court again?
Autumn locust flowers fall in the empty palace,
At Ningbi Lake, music plays in vain."
After An Lushan’s defeat, officials who had surrendered to the rebels were punished. Wang Wei’s poem reached the emperor, who praised him. Wang Jin, then Vice Minister of Justice, requested to be punished in place of his brother, and Wang Wei was thus pardoned but demoted to Vice Director of the Crown Prince’s Secretariat. During the Qianyuan era, he was promoted to Vice Director of the Crown Prince’s Household and later to Imperial Secretary. He was again appointed as Chancellery Attendant and later as Right Vice Minister of State Affairs. Wang Wei was renowned for his poetry during the Kaiyuan and Tianbao eras. His brothers traveled to the capital, and they were welcomed by all members of the royal family, nobles, and powerful figures. Prince Ning and Prince Xue treated them as teachers and friends. Wang Wei excelled particularly in five-character poetry, and his calligraphy and painting were exceptional. His brushwork and composition were so profound that they seemed to participate in the creation of the universe, and even if he omitted certain details, his landscapes—such as mountains, water, and clouds—were beyond the reach of ordinary painters. Once, someone showed him a musical score without a name, and Wang Wei recognized it as the third movement of the Nixiang suite. He gathered music masters and played it, and they found no discrepancies, all marveling at his meticulous attention to detail.
Wang Wei and his brothers were devout Buddhists. They lived on vegetarian diets, avoiding meat and blood, and practiced fasting in their later years, wearing only plain robes. They owned a villa in Lantian, near Wangkou, where the Wang River flowed around their residence. There were bamboo islets and flower gardens, where they often met with their friend Pei Di, traveling by boat, playing the lute, composing poetry, and reciting verses all day. They compiled their poems from this villa and called it the Wangchuan Collection. In the capital, he would host over a dozen monks for meals, delighting in philosophical discussions. His simple life consisted only of tea pots, mortars, a scripture stand, and a rope bed. After court sessions, he would burn incense and sit alone, meditating on Buddhist scriptures. He never remarried after his wife’s death and lived alone in a single room for thirty years, completely detached from worldly affairs. He passed away in July of the second year of the Qianyuan era. On his deathbed, he suddenly requested a brush to write a letter to Wang Jin, who was in Fengxiang, and also composed several farewell letters to his close friends, urging them to practice Buddhism and cultivate their hearts. He took up the brush and passed away.
During Emperor Daizong’s reign, Wang Jin served as prime minister. The emperor, who loved literature, often said to Wang Jin, "My elder brother, in the Tianbao era, his poetic fame was unmatched. I once heard his songs at the gatherings of the imperial family. How many collections of his works do you have? Please bring them to me." Wang Jin replied, "My brother composed over ten thousand poems during the Kaiyuan and Tianbao eras, but after An Lushan’s rebellion, less than ten percent remain. I have compiled them with friends and relatives, and we have collected over four hundred pieces." The next day, the emperor issued an edict praising and rewarding him.
According to the biography of Wang Wei in the Tang Shu by Song Qi, Wang Wei, styled Mojie, was already skilled in writing at the age of nine and was renowned alongside his brother, Wang Jin. He was filial and friendly. In the early Kaiyuan era, he passed the imperial examination and was appointed as the Director of the Imperial Music Bureau. Due to political setbacks, he was demoted to the post of granary officer in Jizhou. When Zhang Jiuling was in power, he was promoted to Right Supplement, serving as a Censor and later as Libationer. After his mother’s death, he neglected his appearance to the point of near death. After the mourning period, he was promoted to Chancellery Attendant. During An Lushan’s rebellion, Emperor Xuanzong fled west, and Wang Wei was captured by the rebels.