Wang Wei

Poet & Painter

(699 – Unknown) · East Asia

Tang dynasty Chinese poet and painter, born around 699 CE, often called the Buddha of Poetry for the Zen-inflected quality of his verse. He served as a court official but retreated to his estate at Wangchuan, which became the landscape setting for his most celebrated poems. His nature poetry integrates visual, aural, and spiritual observation in ways that deeply influenced subsequent Chinese literary tradition.