Wang Wei (70 1 -76 1, 699 -76 1) was born in Zhou Pu, Hedong (now Yuncheng, Shanxi), and his ancestral home was Qixian, Shanxi. The famous poet and painter in Tang Dynasty, together with Meng Haoran, were called "Wang Meng" and "Shi Fo".
In the 19th year of Kaiyuan (73 1), Wang Wei was the first scholar. Li Guan right gleaned, supervised the remonstrance, and made our time in Hexi. Wang Wei studied Buddhism and Taoism and was proficient in poetry, books, paintings and music. He is famous for his poems of Kaiyuan and Tianbao, praising landscapes and pastoral areas.
There is a saying that "Li Bai is a genius, Du Fu is a native talent and Wang Wei is a talent", and later generations also call Wang Wei Shi Fo. This title not only expresses the Zen and religious inclination of Wang Wei's poems, but also affirms Wang Wei's lofty position in the Tang Dynasty. Wang Wei is not only recognized as Shi Fo, but also a master of Nanshan literati painting (Qian Zhongshu called him "the first painting in the prosperous Tang Dynasty"). He is also proficient in temperament, good at calligraphy and seal cutting, and is a rare all-rounder
Wang Weishi was famous both before and after his death. History says that "fame is in Kaiyuan and Tianbao, and the nobles and heroes are vain to welcome it, and the kings of Ning and Xue treat it as teachers and friends" (New Tang Book).
Tang Daizong once called it "the literate sect in the world" (Answer to Wang Weiji in Wang Jin).
Du Fu also called him "the most beautiful sentence in a full picture book" (the eighth of the twelve poems in Jieboredom).
At the end of the Tang Dynasty, Si Kongtu praised it as "interesting and clear, if clear and deep" ("Comment on Poetry with Wang Jia").
In the past, people once praised Wang Wei as "Shi Fo" and compared him with poet Du Fu and poet Li Bai.