Chapter 34 Wang Wei/Great Poet, Painter, Musician

Wang Wei (701-761), a great poet, painter and musician of the Tang Dynasty.The word Mojie.Originally from Qi (now Qi County, Shanxi), he moved to Puzhou (now West Yongji, Shanxi) with his father.In the ninth year of Kaiyuan (721), Jinshi was awarded Dalecheng for his proficiency in temperament. He was captured during the "Anshi Rebellion" and forced to be a pseudo-official.After the chaos was over, he was reduced to a common man in the crown prince, and later moved to Gishizhong, and ended up as Shangshu Youcheng, so he was called "Wang Youcheng" in the world.He was a great poet as famous as Li Bai and Du Fu in the heyday of the Tang Dynasty, as well as a great painter. He was the founder of the Southern School of Landscape Painting in my country. Moreover, he was also a great musician, especially good at playing the pipa.

In the ninth year of Kaiyuan, Wang Wei came to Chang'an from Puzhou (now west of Yongji, Shanxi) to take the exam. He was full of ambition and determined to win the laurel crown.The imperial examinations in the Tang Dynasty were not too strict. If you want to go to high school, you often need princes and nobles to greet the examiners in advance.Wang Wei heard that the poet Zhang Jiugao had obtained the promise of being the first in the palace examination through the channel of Princess Tang.He was at a loss, so he had to discuss with his good friend Qi Wang Li Fan (Xuan Zongdi).Li Fan gave him an idea, asking him to transcribe ten of his fresh and meaningful poems, and prepare a piece of pipa, which he was familiar with playing, and take him to see Princess Taiping five days later.

Five days later, Li Fan took a group of musicians to see Princess Taiping. He asked Wang Wei to dress up as a musician and mix in with them.Wang Wei's extraordinary temperament attracted the attention of the princess. The princess asked Li Fan who Wang Wei was. "Yulun Robe", the superb and superb skills moved all the listeners, and the princess was even more amazed.King Qi said again: "This man is not only proficient in rhythm, but also in poetry." He asked Wang Wei to present a volume of poems.The princess was shocked after reading it, and said: "These are the poems I like to recite most at ordinary times. I thought they were written by ancient sages, but I didn't expect them to be his works!" The ceremony received him.

When the princess knew that Wang Wei was also a scholar who came to Beijing to take the exam, she said, "If such a talented person doesn't make it to the top of the list, who else should he be?" Wang Wei is the first. After the palace examination, Wang Wei finally became the "big leader of the world", and since then he has embarked on an official career and has become famous all over the world. This song "Yulunpao" is said to be the famous pipa solo "Overlord Unloading Armor". Of course, Wang Wei's approach is not approved by future generations.The famous literati Kang Hai, one of the first seven sons of the Ming Dynasty, devoted himself to landscape music after his dismissal.Once, the servant Yang Tingyi came to visit him. He was very happy and played the pipa to persuade him to drink.Yang Tingyi said: "My brother is in the cabinet and misses you very much. Why don't you write a letter to contact him." Kang Hai was furious, and threw the pipa to beat him, saying: "Am I like Wang Wei, who borrowed the pipa to ask for money?" Officials."

There is another story that can illustrate Wang Wei's painting and music level: A man was given a painting in which musicians were playing music.The painting has no title and inscription, so we don't know who painted it or what it is about, so we asked Wang Wei to identify it.Wang Wei looked at the painting carefully and said: "This painting shows the musicians playing the first beat of the third stack of "Dancing in Neon Clothes and Feather Clothes." Everyone thought it was too mysterious and didn't believe it.So someone called the musicians and asked them to play "Neon Clothes and Feather Clothes Dance".When the first beat of the third stack was played, the musicians were asked to stop, and everyone compared the fingering and expressions of the musicians with the painting, and they were exactly the same.Only based on the postures of the musicians in the painting, it can be accurately concluded that the song being played is "Neon Clothes and Feather Clothes", and it happens to be the first beat of the third stack. This is enough to prove how proficient Wang Wei is in painting and music.It's no wonder that after Wang Wei became a Jinshi in the ninth year of Kaiyuan (721), his first official position in the court was Dalecheng.