Wang Wei (Tang dynasty)

Wang Wei
Born	699 Qi County, Jinzhong, Shanxi
Died	761 (aged 61–62) Xi'an, Shaanxi
Occupation	Musician, painter, poet, politician
Period	Tang dynasty
Relatives	Wang Jin (brother)

Wang Wei
Wang's name in Traditional (top) and Simplified (bottom) Chinese characters
Traditional Chinese	王維
Simplified Chinese	王维
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Wáng Wéi Wade–Giles Wang2 Wei2 IPA [wǎŋ wěɪ] Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Wòhng Wàih Jyutping Wong4 Wai4 IPA [wɔŋ˩ wɐj˩] Southern Min Tâi-lô Ông Uî Middle Chinese Middle Chinese ɦuang jwi
(courtesy name)
Traditional Chinese	摩詰
Simplified Chinese	摩诘
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Mójié IPA [mwǒtɕjě] Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Mō-kit Southern Min Tâi-lô Môo-khiat

Wang Wei (Traditional Chinese: 王維; Simplified Chinese: 王维, pinyin: Wáng Wéi, 699–761)^[1] was a Chinese musician, painter, poet, and politician of the middle Tang dynasty. He is regarded as one of the most distinguished men of arts and letters of his era. About 400 of his poems survived and 29 of them are included in the 18th-century anthology Three Hundred Tang Poems. A large portion of his finest poems drew inspirations from the local landscape.

Wang Wei is renowned for his dual talents as a nature poet and landscape painter. His poems were originally compiled and edited into a collection by his next-youngest brother, Wang Jin at imperial command. Of his paintings, no authenticated specimens survive, although there were evidence of his work through influences on later paintings and descriptive accounts. His musical talents were highly regarded, however, no compositions or music notes had been preserved. He had a successful career as an imperial court official. Later in life, he became a devout Chan Buddhist and a vegetarian.^[2] He spent ten years studying with Chan master Daoguang.