Analysis of Space and Taoist Discourse in the Poetry of Wang Wei

Abstract

The impact and the importance of Buddhism in the Literature of the Tang Dynasty came to overshadow other philosophical and religious trends considered genuinely Chinese such as Taoism and Confucianism. Wang Wei, one of the most representative poets of his time, is a good example of syncretism and cohabitation between religions in both his life and work. The analysis of two poems by Wang Wei, mainly Taoist-inspired, demonstrate how Taoist speech and the Taoist idea of landscape were literarily, aesthetically and spiritually, perfectly configured and offer, therefore, the keys that characterize them.