Wei Yingwu
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Wei Yingwu (; c. 737? – c. 792),
courtesy name A courtesy name (), also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This practice is a tradition in the East Asian cultural sphere, including China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.Ulrich Theobald ...
Yibo (),
art name An art name (pseudonym or pen name), also known by its native names ''hào'' (in Mandarin), ''gō'' (in Japanese), ''ho'' (in Korean), and ''tên hiệu'' (in Vietnamese), is a professional name used by East Asian artists, poets and writers. The ...
Xizhai (), was a
Chinese poet The following is a list of Poets who wrote or write much of their poetry in the languages of China. __NOTOC__ A *Ai Qing B *Bai Juyi or Bo Juyi *Consort Ban *Ban Gu (32–92 A.D.)Minford, John, and Joseph S. M. Lau, ''Classical Chinese Lite ...
of the
Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...
. Twelve of Wei Yingwu's poems were included in the influential ''
Three Hundred Tang Poems The ''Three Hundred Tang Poems'' () is an anthology of poems from the Chinese Tang dynasty (618–907). It was first compiled around 1763 by Sun Zhu (1722–1778Yu, 64–65), who was a Qing Dynasty scholar and was also known as Hengtang Tuishi ( ...
'' anthology. He was also known by his honorific name Wei Suzhou (), which was bestowed upon him as a result of his service as the governor of
Suzhou Suzhou (; ; Suzhounese: ''sou¹ tseu¹'' , Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Soochow, is a major city in southern Jiangsu province, East China. Suzhou is the largest city in Jiangsu, and a major economic center and focal point of trade ...
.


Biography

Wei Yingwu was born around 737 in
Chang'an Chang'an (; ) is the traditional name of Xi'an. The site had been settled since Neolithic times, during which the Yangshao culture was established in Banpo, in the city's suburbs. Furthermore, in the northern vicinity of modern Xi'an, Qin Shi ...
. He came from a prestigious family, the Xiaoyaogong branch of the
Wei clan of Jingzhao Wei or WEI may refer to: States * Wey (state) (衛, 1040–209 BC), Wei in pinyin, but spelled Wey to distinguish from the bigger Wei of the Warring States * Wei (state) (魏, 403–225 BC), one of the seven major states of the Warring States per ...
, and was born into nobility; his great-grandfather,
Wei Daijia Wei Daijia () (died 689?) was a general and official of the Tang dynasty of China, serving as Chancellor of the Tang dynasty, chancellor during the first reign of the Emperor Ruizong of Tang, Emperor Ruizong. Background It is not known when Wei D ...
, had been a
chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...
during the reign of
Wu Zetian Wu Zetian (17 February 624 – 16 December 705), personal name Wu Zhao, was the ''de facto'' ruler of the Tang dynasty from 665 to 705, ruling first through others and then (from 690) in her own right. From 665 to 690, she was first empres ...
. Wei Yingwu became an imperial
bodyguard A bodyguard (or close protection officer/operative) is a type of security guard, government law enforcement officer, or servicemember who protects a person or a group of people — usually witnesses, high-ranking public officials or officers, w ...
of Emperor Xuanzong when he was fifteen years old. Because he came from a noble background, he was not required to pass the
imperial examination The imperial examination (; lit. "subject recommendation") refers to a civil-service examination system in Imperial China, administered for the purpose of selecting candidates for the state bureaucracy. The concept of choosing bureaucrats by ...
. After the death of Emperor Xuanzong, Wei Yingwu served as the magistrate of
Hu County Huyi District (), formerly known as Hu County or Huxian (, written as / before 1964, (same for both ways of writing)), is one of 11 urban districts of the prefecture-level city of Xi'an, the capital of Shaanxi Province, Northwest China. The d ...
and
Yueyang Yueyang, formerly known as Yuezhou or Yochow, is a prefecture-level city on the eastern shores of Dongting Lake and Yangtze in the northeastern corner of Hunan Province in the People's Republic of China. Yueyang has an administrative area of a ...
. He was also the governor of
Chuzhou Chuzhou () is a prefecture-level city in eastern Anhui Province, China. It borders the provincial capital of Hefei to the south and southwest, Huainan to the west, Bengbu to the northwest, and the province of Jiangsu to the east. According to ...
(784), Jiangzhou (785), and
Suzhou Suzhou (; ; Suzhounese: ''sou¹ tseu¹'' , Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Soochow, is a major city in southern Jiangsu province, East China. Suzhou is the largest city in Jiangsu, and a major economic center and focal point of trade ...
(787-792). He died in Suzhou in 792. According to John C. H. Wu, the turbulence and lack of strong central leadership of China during Wei Yingwu's poetry-writing years was a major influence upon his work. One example of such sociopolitical turmoil is the
An Shi Rebellion The An Lushan Rebellion was an uprising against the Tang dynasty of China towards the mid-point of the dynasty (from 755 to 763), with an attempt to replace it with the Yan dynasty. The rebellion was originally led by An Lushan, a general office ...
of 755–763. Wu suggests that images such as the boat moving without a person steering in Wei Yingwu's poem "At Chuzhou on the Western Stream" are a reference to the ship of state without a person at the helm.


Poetry

Wei Yingwu was strongly influenced by the 5th-century poet
Tao Yuanming Tao Yuanming (; 365–427), also known as Tao Qian (; also T'ao Ch'ien in Wade-Giles), was a Chinese poet and politician who was one of the best-known poets during the Six Dynasties, Six Dynasties period. He was born during the Eastern Jin dyn ...
, whose poems reflect his indifference to the world. Editors of Siku Quanshu commented that his poems are "Simple but not vulgar, rich but not pedantic". Wei Yingwu's most praised poetry consists of the five-character poems () prominent during the Tang era. The majority of Wei Yingwu's poems depict various nature scenes, such as mountains and rivers, consistent with the mountains-and-rivers style of landscape poetry (). According to
Bai Juyi Bai Juyi (also Bo Juyi or Po Chü-i; ; 772–846), courtesy name Letian (樂天), was a renowned Chinese poet and Tang dynasty government official. Many of his poems concern his career or observations made about everyday life, including as g ...
, Wei Yingwu's poems were inspired by the feelings stirred by natural scenery; Bai Juyi greatly praised Wei Yingwu's work, describing it as "elegant and idle". Later generations of literary critics often associated Wei Yingwu with
Liu Zongyuan Liu Zongyuan (; 77328 November 819) was a Chinese philosopher, poet, and politician who lived during the Tang Dynasty. Liu was born in present-day Yongji, Shanxi. Along with Han Yu, he was a founder of the Classical Prose Movement. He has been t ...
. In his work Qizhui Ji (),
Qian Zhongshu Qian Zhongshu (November 21, 1910 – December 19, 1998), also transliterated as Ch'ien Chung-shu or Dzien Tsoong-su, was a renowned 20th century Chinese literary scholar and writer, known for his wit and erudition. He is best known for his sati ...
draws a parallel between Wang Wei and Wei Yingwu. Qian Zhongshu further cited the theories of Italian literary critic
Benedetto Croce Benedetto Croce (; 25 February 1866 – 20 November 1952) was an Italian idealist philosopher, historian, and politician, who wrote on numerous topics, including philosophy, history, historiography and aesthetics. In most regards, Croce was a lib ...
, who had referred to Wei Yingwu as "un grande-piccolo poeta" or "" ("a minor poet among great poets"), in contrast to Wang Wei, whom he described as "un piccolo-grande poeta" or "" ("a great poet among minor poets"). Wei Yingwu's poems collected in the anthology ''Three Hundred Tang Poems'' were translated by
Witter Bynner Harold Witter Bynner (August 10, 1881 – June 1, 1968), also known by the pen name Emanuel Morgan, was an American poet and translator. He was known for his long residence in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and association with other literary figures ther ...
as: * "Entertaining Literary Men in my Official Residence on a Rainy Day" * "Setting Sail on the Yangzi to Secretary Yuan" * "A Poem to a Taoist Hermit Chuanjiao Mountain" * "On Meeting my Friend Feng Zhu in the Capital" * "Mooring at Twilight in Yuyi District" * "East of the Town" * "To my Daughter on Her Marriage Into the Yang Family" * "A Greeting on the Huai River to my Old Friends from Liangchuan" * "A Farewell in the Evening Rain to Li Cao" * "To my Friends Li Dan and Yuanxi" * "An Autumn Night Message to Qiu" * "At Chuzhou on the Western Stream"


Translations

Apart from selected poems found in various anthologies, Wei Yingwu's poetry has not been as popular in translation as many of his Tang-era contemporaries. The poet and translator
Red Pine ''Pinus resinosa'', known as red pine (also Norway pine in Minnesota), is a pine native to North America. Description Red pine is a coniferous evergreen tree characterized by tall, straight growth. It usually ranges from in height and in trun ...
(Bill Porter) published a bilingual translation of all of Wei Yingwu's poetry, ''In Such Hard Times: The Poetry of Wei Ying-wu'' (
Copper Canyon Press Copper Canyon Press is an independent, non-profit small press, founded in 1972 specializing exclusively in the publication of poetry. It is located in Port Townsend, Washington. Copper Canyon Press publishes new collections of poetry by both popu ...
, 2009), which earned the
Best Translated Book Award The Best Translated Book Award is an American literary award that recognizes the previous year's best original translation into English, one book of poetry and one of fiction. It was inaugurated in 2008 and is conferred by Three Percent, the onlin ...
from the
University of Rochester The University of Rochester (U of R, UR, or U of Rochester) is a private research university in Rochester, New York. The university grants undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional degrees. The University of Roc ...
's translation press, and the
American Literary Translators Association The American Literary Translators Association (ALTA) is an organization in the United States dedicated to literary translation. ALTA promotes literary translation through its annual conference, which draws hundreds of translators and literary profes ...
(ALTA)'s inaugural Lucien Stryk Asian Translation Prize (2010).


Notes


Works cited

* *Wu, John C. H. (1972). The Four Seasons of Tang Poetry. Rutland, Vermont: Charles E. Tuttle.


External links

* * *Books of the ''
Quan Tangshi (''Complete Tang Poems'') is the largest collection of Tang poetry, containing some 49,000 lyric poems by more than twenty-two hundred poets. In 1705, it was commissioned at the direction of the Qing dynasty Kangxi Emperor and published under ...
'' that include collected poems of Wu Yingwu at the
Chinese Text Project The Chinese Text Project (CTP; ) is a digital library project that assembles collections of early Chinese texts. The name of the project in Chinese literally means "The Chinese Philosophical Book Digitization Project", showing its focus on books ...
:
Book 186Book 187Book 188Book 189Book 190

Book 191Book 192Book 193Book 194Book 195
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wei, Yingwu Three Hundred Tang Poems poets 730s births 792 deaths Writers from Xi'an 8th-century Chinese poets Poets from Shaanxi Wei clan of Jingzhao