Wang Wei: His Life
Wang Wei was born during the golden years of the Tang Dynasty, in the current city of Puxian, province of Shanxi, in 701, into an aristocratic family. His father, grandfather and great grandfather were all government officials. His mother belonged to a prominent family as well. Wang had at least four younger brothers and one younger sister. Wang’s family background helped especially during the second part of his life, but in the beginning of his governmental career it was more of a hindrance to his advancement. Wang Wei came of age during the reign of emperor Xuanzong, who ruled from 712 to 756.
Academically he was a child prodigy. By the age of fifteen Wang went to the capital Chang’an (modern day Xi’an) to study with the famous and well known teachers in order to pass the imperial examinations needed to be assigned a government position. He wrote his first poem in 718 at the age of seventeen. In 720 he sat for the regional examinations, and passed with the highest score. This qualified him to sit for the most difficult test, the jinshi, taken in the capital during the early part of each year by several thousand candidates. Only one or two per cent of those taking the test passes. The jinshi requires one to thoroughly know the classics, as well as to demonstrate the ability to write poetry, and then essays on moral issues and current affairs. In 722, at the early age of twenty-one, Wang passed the jinshi. He was greatly helped by his distinguished family background and his having made social connections with those teaching him prior to the examinations.
Wang’s early talents included that of a musician. As he was preparing for his examinations he became well-known for his playing of the pipa (Chinese lute). So it is not surprising that after passing the jinshi, Wang’s initial government job was in the palace Music Academy as associate secretary of music. But after less than one year he was exiled to Jizhou for giving one of the dancers an offensive role to emperor. Wang remained here in exile for over three years. This experience understandably made him very sad and angry.
From 726 to 728 Wang had a simple and low level government position in Qishan, in the current province of Shandong. Not surprisingly, Wang wrote many poems about his exile during this period. From here he later quit his job to travel in the eastern provinces, and then eventually he moved back to his hometown. During this time he visited several Daoist temples and lived for a while near Mt. Song. Then in 729 at the age of twenty-eight Wang began his studies with Daoguan, a Chan Buddhist teacher.
It was around this time that Wang bought the land and house at Wang River from a high government official, Song Zihuan. It was here, about thirty miles southeast of the capital, where Wang Wei would spend his periods of yinju, or rural seclusion. By 730 he was back in the capital to work for the government with the help of Zhang Jiuling, who was prime minister at the time. Also in this year his wife died. He never remarried, and never had any children. Wang served as Zhang’s aide and assistant, writing and copying imperial documents. But a year later, Zhang was himself exiled to a post far away from the imperial capital. This led Wang to realize that even if one has a high government post, this is not a guarantee for any length of time. He now knew that the palace crowd and imperial politics, were corrupt and not to be trusted.
Around the year of 738, Wang was promoted to palace censor. In 740 he was made a provincial examiner in the south. This assignment required him to travel through Xiangyang, a provincial city on the Han River. Here Wang wrote a famous poem for a poetic predecessor, Meng Haoran (689-740).
Upon his return to the capital in 742, he was appointed as a commissioner, and then promoted to secretary of military stores. Wang held this position for about eight to nine years. He was responsible not only for weaponry, but also was involved in official imperial ceremonies. During this time Wang wrote many poems about being in the palace court.
Sometime around the year 750 Wang’s mother died. She was buried at his Wang River estate. In accordance with Confucian traditions, Wang left his government position and went into mourning for two years. Upon his return to the capital in 752, he was assigned a new position as secretary of the civil office. Then in 754 Wang was named grand secretary of the Imperial Chancellery, where he edited imperial edicts and other important documents.
Near the end of 755, the An Lushan rebellion began. An Lushan was a frontier general who lead an army of some 160,00 soldiers against the capital. He captured both Luoyang and Chang’an within a few months. In the summer of 756 emperor Xuanzong and many of his court personnel fled the capital to go into exile. Wang Wei tried to join the imperial retinue, but was unable to catch up to them and was therefore captured. He tried to fake illness and not cooperate with the new regime, but in the end he was only spared execution because An Lushan admired his talents. He was forced to serve in An Lushan’s government. For many critics, Wang wrote two poems that saved his life. One was composed in a prison at the Pu Di monastery and given to his close friend Pei Di. After loyalist forces retook the capital, this poem was used to justify his eventual pardon, along with the help of his brother Wang Qin.
From 758 to Wang’s death in 761, he held high level offices, including tutoring the crown prince and assistant secretary of state. After his death in 761, Wang was buried at his Wang River estate. His brother Wang Qin survived him and went on to become a chief minister under Emperor Daizong. Daizong asked Wang Qin to collect and gather his brother’s extant poems for an anthology. Wang Qin reported to the emperor that only one in ten of his brother’s poems remained in existence. But from these more than four hundred poems we have the work of one of China’s greatest poets.