The videos I watched became popular in ancient times

Wang Wei's life was actually a process of constant loss.

There are four great joys in life: rain after a long drought, meeting an old friend in a foreign land, the wedding night, and being named on the list of successful candidates.

There are four great sorrows in life: losing your mother in childhood, losing your father in youth, losing your wife in middle age, and losing your son in old age.

But no one has ever said what would happen if God brought almost all of these four joys and four sorrows upon the same person.

Wang Wei is the person who is frequently favored.

If God gives him a candy in one hand, he will definitely take away the apple in his other hand.

However, the cruel God still retained a little mercy and left Wang Wei his mother.

It was precisely because of this little hope of life that Wang Wei eventually became one of the three great poets of the Tang Dynasty along with Li Bai and Du Fu.

"Wang Wei was born during the reign of Wu Zetian and was known as Mojie Jushi."

"Wang Wei's father was from the Wang family of Hedong, and his mother was from the Cui family of Boling."

"Because Wang Wei's mother, Cui, believed in Buddhism, she gave Wang Wei the courtesy name Mojie after the Bodhisattva Mojie."

"Because Wang Wei's father's and mother's families were both prominent local families, Wang Wei grew up in such a family and his knowledge and talent were far beyond the reach of ordinary people."

"And Wang Wei was already more talented than his peers when he was young."

"Although when Wang Wei was nine years old, his father's death caused his family to fall into poverty."

"But his mother, Cui, still did not neglect her child's education. Wang Wei spent his teenage and childhood accompanying his mother to sell paintings and attending school."

"During the Kaiyuan period when Emperor Xuanzong of Tang ascended the throne, Wang Wei was a young man."

"In order to gain fame and fortune, Wang Wei made up his mind to go to Beijing to take the imperial examination."

"The young man was dressed in fine clothes and rode a horse, and he was full of talent. Once he entered the prosperous Chang'an, he was sought after by scholars and poets. Wang Wei often traveled with scholars and patriots."

"It was during that period that Wang Wei climbed the mountain with his friends on the Double Ninth Festival."

"Looking at the scenery in front of me, I miss my family at home, and wrote down the famous line that goes "When you are alone in a foreign land, you miss your family even more during every festive occasion."

"Wang Wei wandered around Chang'an for several years until he was 19 years old when he took the imperial examination."

"Unfortunately, Wang Wei, who was quite talented, did not get a place in this imperial examination."

"Why has my talent not been appreciated throughout my life? Wang Wei fell into deep self-doubt."

"When Wang Wei was in distress, one of his good friends woke him up from his confusion with just a few words."

"This good friend told Wang Wei that if he failed the imperial examination, it would be like wanting to write a book but not being able to grind it."

"Xingjuan means that before taking the imperial examination, students need to write their political opinions into scrolls and submit them to the homes of royal nobles in the court to gain their support and prolong their reputation."

"One word awakens a person from his dream. Wang Wei was enlightened by this good friend."

"At the age of 21, in addition to concentrating on preparing for the imperial examination, he also composed a piece of music called "Yu Lun Pao" as his own paper."

"It was this song, 'Yu Lun Pao', that made Princess Yu Zhen obsessed and intoxicated by it."

"This enabled Wang Wei to win the heart of Princess Yuzhen, and Princess Yuzhen also helped Wang Wei a lot when he was taking the imperial examination."

"Because of Princess Yuzhen, Li Bai and Wang Wei, although they lived in the same era, never had the slightest intersection with each other."

"But as the saying goes, people with different ideals cannot work together. Li Bai is bold and unrestrained by nature, while Wang Wei is leisurely and elegant."

"Even if they had some intersections, they could not have a profound exchange of ideas, and they could not find a way to resonate with each other, so Li Bai and Wang Wei were destined not to become close friends."

Su Shi: Wang Wei’s three keys to heal life: accept, change, and leave.

When talking about the famous figures of the Tang Dynasty, we cannot avoid Li Bai, Du Fu and Wang Wei.

Li Bai is like a banished immortal from heaven, out of reach.

Du Fu worried about the country's destruction and the people's suffering throughout his life. He lived a cramped life that we can hardly bear.

Only Wang Wei is real. His attitude towards life provides ordinary people with a warm and peaceful life model.

Wang Wei reached the peak of his career as soon as he debuted, and his painting, music and poetry were all outstanding.

As soon as he arrived in the capital, he was like a dragon entering the sea, and his fame rose among the kings and nobles.

At the age of seventeen, he shocked the literary world with his poem "Remembering My Brothers in Shandong on the Ninth Day of the Ninth Month", and his contemporaries praised him for his talent.

When he was less than 20 years old, he won the appreciation of Princess Yuzhen with the song "Yu Lun Pao" and opened the door to an official career.

But when he was ready to do something big, he was knocked down by fate.

In the ninth year of Kaiyuan, Wang Wei took office as the Minister of Music, responsible for teaching music, dance and other subjects.

However, after only a few months in office, his subordinate actors secretly performed the yellow lion dance.

The Yellow Lion Dance was reserved for the emperor, so this behavior was disrespectful.

Wang Wei was implicated and demoted to the position of assistant military officer in charge of warehouses in Jeju.

The young man has lofty ambitions and claims to be the best in the world. Who wouldn't be arrogant?

Such changes and setbacks are enough to make a person devastated, but Wang Wei accepted the difficulties calmly.

He climbed mountains and waded through water, exploring secluded and beautiful places, and always returned home in high spirits.

He went to Taoist temples and Buddhist temples to discuss Taoism and Zen, and visited hermits and sages in the countryside and mountains.

While traveling and making friends, the depression caused by being demoted gradually dissipated.

But fate seemed unwilling to let Wang Wei go. The more it favored him in the first half of her life, the more cruel it was to him in the second half.

In the 19th year of Kaiyuan, his wife, who had shared his joys and sorrows, died in childbirth.

Two of the four great tragedies in life, the loss of his wife in middle age and childlessness in old age, unexpectedly brought Wang Wei to the bottom of his life.

Wang Wei cried bitterly and described himself as haggard to commemorate this love.

He lived alone for thirty years and never married.

But the dead are gone, and the living remain.

Wang Wei cleared away the haze in his heart and looked beyond the two states of suffering and joy.

He returned to Chang'an and actively interacted with Prime Minister Zhang Shuo and others in the hope of gaining support in the future.

When traveling in Wu and Yue, he encountered famous mountains and beautiful waters, and recalled the poems of the ancients describing the scenery, wanting to compete with them.

Hence the famous line: The moon rises and startles the mountain birds, which sometimes sing in the spring stream.

There is no need to ask about the floating clouds of the world. It is better to lie down high and have a meal.

Now that things have come to this, why not accept it calmly? If you hold on to it, you will only end up hurting yourself.

"After a year of careful preparation, Wang Wei won the title of Jinshi in one fell swoop."

"The young champion, on a quick tour, with the friend who once enlightened him, wrote poems and songs, which was very beautiful."

"Of course, the friend who reminded him everywhere is not an ordinary person."

"He is the current Qi Wang Li Fan, the Qi Wang that Du Fu often sees in Qi Wang's house."

"Wang Wei passed the imperial examination and was awarded the title of Taiyue Cheng, in charge of the palace's musical instruments and dances."

"After Wang Wei was appointed as the Minister of Music, he was full of vigor and vitality."

"I often entertained scholars and poets in Qi Wang's house with Qi Wang Li Fan. It was very glorious."

"Unfortunately, the good times didn't last long. Wang Wei only served as the Minister of Music for a few months."

"Because one of my men violated the rules and performed a dance that only the emperor was qualified to watch."

"I was demoted to join the army in Jeju, far away from Chang'an."

"Wang Wei lost his loyalty at a young age and was not successful. After being demoted to join the army in Jeju, he did not often recall the days of his poetic life in Chang'an."

"He became more and more depressed, and finally it was Wang Wei's mother who enlightened him with Buddhist teachings."

"Wang Wei's mother explained to Wang Wei the meaning of naming him Wei and giving him the courtesy name Mojie."

"I hope that no matter what he does or what he goes through, he will eventually be able to return to his true self and return to the Pure Land."

"Under his mother's guidance, Wang Wei began to return to nature, looking for the meaning of life and pursuing a pure land."

"I left Jeju a few years later and lived a leisurely life on the Qi River, picking chrysanthemums under the eastern fence and leisurely looking at the southern mountains."

"It was also during this period that Wang Wei began to admire Tao Yuanming's pastoralism, and he was very happy."

"It was also at this time that Wang Wei's creative style underwent a great change."

"Wang Wei's leisure time lasted only a few years as he faced financial difficulties at home."

"My mother is old and sick, my younger sister is coming of age, and my wife, Cui, is about to give birth."

"Faced with a lot of expenses, Wang Wei's family had no savings to support them." "Wang Wei was faced with the two major problems of his ideals and supporting his family. Although Wang Wei seemed to be at ease at this time, he was tormented in his heart."

"The good times didn't last long. Wang Wei's wife, Cui from Qinghe, died in 731 AD due to complications during childbirth."

"Overnight, Wang Wei lost his wife and son."

"Qinghe Cui and Wang Wei were young couples, and they were childhood sweethearts."

"Wang Wei even refused the royal marriage proposal. Wang Wei, who lost his beloved wife, was naturally extremely sad."

"But he did not write a eulogy like most literati did. Instead, he began to devote himself to the southern mountains and rivers and began his semi-official and semi-retired life."

"Perhaps it was the death of his beloved wife that made Wang Wei understand life more deeply and better the meaning of purity represented by Mo Jie."

Xin Qiji: The charm of Wang Wei lies in that he turns an unhappy life into poetry.

When Li Bai was in his forties, he still wrote poems to seek advice from officials, but he hoped to get a government position.

Bai Juyi read so much that his mouth got sores and his hands were covered with calluses, just for the sake of seeing all the flowers in Chang'an in one day.

Serving as an official in the court and governing the country has been the ultimate ideal of literati and scholars for thousands of years.

Wang Wei was no exception; the fire in his heart never went out.

After a few years of idleness, he decided to return to the court again.

But the power struggle behind the Yellow Lion Dance incident made him realize that a gentleman should not stand under a dangerous wall.

He began to put away his arrogance and humble himself.

He presented a poem to Prime Minister Zhang Jiuling, in which he compared himself to Jia Yi and pleaded for his support.

If Zhang Jiuling took a liking to him, he would be willing to do any job.

Not long after taking office as You Shiyi, Wang Wei wrote another poem to Zhang Jiuling to express his aspirations.

He became able to move with ease among all kinds of people.

When he was in the court, he had a group of princes and nobles as his friends, and when he was abroad, he had a group of literary friends with whom he would travel and sightsee.

He enjoyed music with a group of princes and princesses, but never took sides or got involved in any gossip or grudges.

He interacted with Pei Di, Chao Heng, Li Guinian and others, but did not form a clique for personal gain.

In short, he keeps a distance from everyone, and handles his relationships with everyone harmoniously and appropriately.

These accumulated connections eventually helped him overcome the crisis in his life.

During the An-Shi Rebellion, An Lushan captured Chang'an and Wang Wei was forced to accept a fake position.

Later, the Tang army recaptured Luoyang, and more than 300 people including Wang Wei who had accepted false positions were put on trial.

Some of these people were executed, some were beaten in court, and some were exiled, but Wang Wei was safe and sound in the end.

It turned out that when his good friend Pei Di went to Bodhi Temple to visit Wang Wei, he wrote down a poem "Ningbi Poetry" that Wang Wei recited.

When Wang Wei was being examined at court, Pei Di presented this poem and argued his case.

It explains that the poem contains Wang Wei's attitude towards the rebels and his loyalty to the court.

Not only that, Wang Wei's friends and colleagues also spoke out to protect him.

After listening to everyone's opinions, Emperor Suzong of Tang released him.

Wang Wei's change and shift in his thinking made him popular and helped him rise rapidly to the position of Shangshu Youcheng.

"The year after his wife passed away, Wang Wei met a great mentor in his life - Zhang Jiuling."

"Zhang Jiuling was promoted to prime minister in Luoyang, and Wang Wei's poem "To Zhang Linggong" won Zhang Jiuling's appreciation."

"Afterwards, he presented many poems to Zhang Jiuling, who valued Wang Wei very much."

"The Wang Wei who presented poems to seek advancement at this time was no longer the high-spirited young man who had once lived in the prosperous Luoyang."

"His life was miserable, and the pain of losing his wife had already crushed him."

"Wang Wei's meeting with Zhang Jiuling was unfortunate for him in the past, but fortunate for him now."

"With the support of Zhang Jiuling, Wang Wei became the Right Picker of Relics."

"Unfortunately, the good times didn't last long. Zhang Jiuling was in office for only three years before he was framed by the treacherous official Li Linfu, demoted, and exiled to Jingzhou."

"Wang Wei, who was promoted by Zhang Jiuling, was also targeted by Li Linfu, who appointed him as a provincial governor and sent him to the desert under the pretext of a envoy."

"At this time, Wang Wei also began to calm down and no longer pursue official titles and salaries."

"Even when faced with the desert scene with flying sand, I can write about the surging admiration of the solitary smoke rising in the desert and the setting sun over the long river."

"Although the desert is harsh, the atmosphere is simple and honest. Wang Wei found himself there and no longer felt like he was walking on thin ice as an official in Chang'an."

"And in the Liangzhou desert, Wang Wei met his best friend, Pei Di."

"Pei Di and Wang Wei were so happy in Liangzhou boiling water, making tea, reciting poems and composing couplets. Wang Wei seemed to have returned to the time when he first came to Chang'an and was with Qi Wang Li Fan."

"Although Wang Wei was later transferred back to Chang'an to take up his post, Chang'an was already in chaos with treacherous officials in power. The carefree and unrestrained life in the desert had been deeply engraved in Wang Wei's mind."

"Later, due to the unrest in the Tang Dynasty, the An-Shi Rebellion broke out."

"Tang Xuanzong fled Chang'an, but Wang Wei was unfortunately captured by the rebels in the process."

"Wang Wei's fame and reputation were very influential to the people at that time. The rebels really needed people like Wang Wei to justify their reputation and gain the support of the people."

"Although Wang Wei pretended to be sick after drinking, he could not escape being taken to Luoyang by the rebels. Wang Wei was imprisoned in the Bodhi Temple in Luoyang."

"Not only that, the rebels also spread the news to the people that Wang Wei had already worked for them."

"In the second year of the An-Shi Rebellion, the Tang army began to gradually recover Luoyang, Chang'an and other places, and the An-Shi Rebellion was quelled."

"Wang Wei was not implicated because his brother was the chief general who suppressed the An-Shi Rebellion and because of his poem Ningbi, and he eventually became the Right Prime Minister."

"In his later years, Wang Wei resigned from his official position due to illness, and finally returned to the countryside and lived his life in seclusion in the mountains."

Li Qingzhao: Wang Wei, who experienced four great joys and four great sorrows, had a life full of constant loss.

Before her death, Wang Wei's mother, Cui, once asked him a question: Do you know why his name is Wang Wei, and his courtesy name is Mojie?
Wang Wei was well versed in Buddhism, so he naturally knew it all.

Vimalakirti was originally an Indian monk. These three words mean free from dirt, that is, pure.

Li Fo's mother separated his name into two parts and named herself.

Such a name seems as if fate has paved the way for his life.

During his decades of official career, Wang Wei saw too much filth and darkness.

There are factional struggles and the desire to abuse power for personal gain.

The good minister who was devoted to the country was dismissed, and the good officials who volunteered to serve the country were excluded.

Li Linfu unscrupulously controlled the government and staged a farce with no plan left.

Talented people were not employed, which made the court chaotic.

He was sad and angry and didn't want to go along with the corrupt people.

Because the emperor was careless and abused the Hu generals, An Lushan's power grew, leading to the An-Shi Rebellion.

At that time, the palaces in Chang'an were burned down, many cities became battlefields, and only one in ten people survived.

Looking around, there was no one living there and the whole place was desolate.

He felt sad that a great dynasty was inevitably heading towards decline.

After experiencing all these things, Wang Wei kept questioning himself.

Everyone is flocking to the officialdom, why do you have to squeeze in?
There are thousands of ways to live, but I have my own place to live.

He no longer cared about the intrigues in officialdom and began to work hard to manage his villa in Lantian Wangchuan.

He often invited good friends like Pei Di to stay with him for a while, to play the piano, compose poetry, and chat over a drink.

He adopted a flexible attitude towards life and lived a semi-official and semi-hidden life.

Go to court when there is something to do, and return home when there is nothing to do.

Wang Wei was in the officialdom, but his heart was in the mountains and rivers. He was able to live his life with a pure heart and be happy.

Most people cannot decisively withdraw from society and live in seclusion.

It is also impossible to ignore the bottom line and become a smart person in society.

Therefore, Wang Wei's existence enriches the possibilities of choosing life paths.

Throughout one's life, one must be at peace with one's inner self and integrate into the secular world.

Like Wang Wei, accept what must be accepted, change what can be changed, and let go of what should be let go. (End of this chapter)