The Chan Interpretations of Wang Wei's Poetry: A Critical Review

Wang Wei (698-759) is one of the greatest High Tang poets. His works are often claimed to take a Buddhist perspective, combining appreciation of the beauties of nature with awareness of sensory illusion, and thus render Wang widely known as Poet Buddha. The book is an original and ambitious attempt to criticize the prevalent assumptions about Chan Buddhist implications in Wang's nature poetry. The author weaves in information and perspectives from literal and historical sources, using them to examine Wang's ideology of reclusion, his associations with Buddhist monks and his apprehension of Buddhism doctrines. While researches on similar topics investigates how Wang might have intentionally imparted Chan significance into his poetry, this book shows concretely both why this is not so and how it lacks evidence.