唐诗《滁州西涧》分析.doc

Peter Kilbourne December 11, 2011 Wei Ying-wu (737-791) Wei Ying-wu was born near the capital city of Chang’an, on an estate on the Tuling Plateau. Wei was the third son of a distinguished family, which produced both high-ranking officials and respected artists. His great grandfather and his great-great-great grandfather were both Grand Councilors to emperors, and his father, uncle, and cousin were well-known painters (Pine xiii.) By the time of Wei’s birth, however, the family’s fortunes were on the decline. The estate was no longer producing the same kind of revenue it had in earlier years, and it seems likely that Wei’s father and his grandfather got caught up in political upheavals at the court. In spite of these setbacks, Wei was invited to join the Palace Guard at the age of 15. At first he freely joined in the excesses of the court, but in the winter of 755, General An Lu-shan began his rebellion, and everything changed for Wei. He met and married his wife Yuan P’ing, also known a Fo-li, or Buddha Power (xv.) Political turmoil notwithstanding, being a civil servant was the only possible career for an aristocrat like Wei (Fairbank Goldman 83.) When the emperor regained some of his power in 759, Wei was given an exemption because of his illustrious family and enrolled in the Imperial College. With the government desperate for loyal officials, Wei was swiftly promoted and given a job as magistrate in Loyang County. He was very disappointed in the job and the life of a government official. A conscientious Buddhist, who was uncomfortable and stiff in a crowd, he didn’t get along well with the other bureaucrats, and he didn’t like the way the army mistreated the civilians (Pine xvi.) As the Emperor was forced to cede power to the military, and the administration became more regionalized (Fairbank Goldman 83), there followed for Wei a series of unsatisfactory government jobs mixed with stays in monasteries when he was out of work. During all this time,