There are three evaluations of Wang Wei: one is the evaluation of Wang Wei's Buddhist thought; The second is the appreciation of Wang Wei's Zen poems, that is, using Zen as a metaphor for poems; The third is the debate about the picture of "banana in the snow". The breakdown is as follows:

First, study Wang Wei's Buddhist and Zen thoughts.

The earliest evaluation of Wang Wei's Buddhist Zen thought was praised by his poet friend Yuan Xian as "a contemporary poet who is also good at Zen" (appreciating the king) [1]. His brother also said, "As for his later years, Micah entered the Tao and sat in an empty room, thinking that there was no life." [2] (P494) "Nothing", nothing. It is synonymous with "no birth and death" or "no birth and death". Buddhism believes that all existing laws have no substance, so there is no change in birth and death. Ordinary people, on the other hand, are fascinated by this theory of lifelessness and are troubled by birth, aging, illness and death, so they turn to life and death; If we look at the theory of lifelessness according to various classics, we can get rid of the troubles of birth, aging, illness and death. From Wang Wei's practice of "sitting in an empty room, thinking about children and having no life", we can know that he was deeply influenced by Buddhism and Zen in his later years. Juyuan Yang, a poet in the mid-Tang Dynasty, wrote about Wang Wei and Buddhism in "To My Brother Mao Qing": "The source of pity for silence lies in deep thinking, and curiosity is the since the enlightenment of Zen wisdom. When Wang Wei testified, Fu Shuiyue and Du Fu were crazy by the world. " [2](P) On the great influence of Zen on Wang Wei and Du Fu.

There is a clear mention of Wang Wei's worship of Buddhism in Biography of Wang Wei in the Two Tang Dynasties, especially the evaluation of Biography of Old Tang Dynasty, which has been repeatedly quoted by later generations. This biography says: "Uighur brothers all worship Buddhism, eat vegetables for a living, and don't eat meat or blood." Old people fast for a long time and don't wear clothes. Song got the Lantian villa, and the water on the side was surrounded by sheds. Instead of going to the flower dock in Zhuzhou, I associate with Taoist friends and Haoran, play the piano and write poems, and enjoy their pastoral life all day long. His poem number is Wangchuan Collection. In the capital, more than a dozen monks are eating rice every day, and they take pleasure in mysterious conversations. There is nothing in the lent except tea trays, medicine mortars, scriptures and rope beds. After retiring from the DPRK, he burned incense and sat alone, taking meditation as his career. I'll never get married again after my wife dies. I have lived alone in a room for 30 years, and the screen has been used up. " [3] The Book of the New Tang Dynasty (Volume 222) said: "Brothers serve the Buddha wholeheartedly, don't eat meat, and dress in rags. The villa is located in Wangchuan, with a beautiful place, such as Huazigang, Lihu, Zhuliguan, Liulang, Dogwood Yi and Wu Xinyi. It was a pleasant visit with Pei You. If you lose your wife, you will live alone for 30 years. " Both Tang books mentioned that Wang Wei had lent his life to the Buddha long ago, and he was not dressed in literary talent. He believes that Wang Wei believes in Buddhism and Zen, and it is reflected in practical actions. Since then, the close relationship between Wang Wei and Buddhism and Zen has been concluded.

Detailed Notes on Du Fu's Poems said: "Singing Du Fu's poems and carrying poems originally came from Talking about Tang Poems. The so-called "Buddha let Wang Wei work, only pity Li Bai crazy." Gai Yiwei's poems are mixed with Buddhism, and white poems are more extravagant. " Although Wang Wei was not directly called "Shi Fo", his meaning was obvious. Notes on Xiang Zu (Volume 2) Thanks to Xiao Cao Zhai Shi (Xiao Cao Zhai Shi) "Although there are many poems, the choice of methods, the lines of songs and quatrains are all wonderful, and their paintings and rhythms are unique for a while, especially for Zen, staying in Sichuan late and enjoying the garden in poverty. This was only seen by poets in the Tang Dynasty. " Contemporary poets are also good at Zen, as Yu Yang commented: "This is the only ear that poets in the Tang Dynasty have seen for 300 years." [4] (P30) Mou Yuanxiang, a Qing Dynasty man, said: "Wang Moshi, like the ancestor Dharma crossing the river, is like bamboo, and naturally laughs." [5]( 9 13) Some excellent Zen poems by Wang Youcheng have really reached the natural realm of nature and work, such as bamboo moving with the wind and lotus leaning against the wind to laugh.

Second, use Zen as a metaphor for poetry

Although "Zen as a poetic metaphor" did not begin with Yan Yu, it has been very popular since Canglang. In the evaluation of Wang Wei's Zen poems, since the Song Dynasty, especially in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, there has been a growing trend, mainly focusing on using Zen as a metaphor for poems. Poetry is subdivided by Zen, and there are poems by Zen, poems by Zen and poems by Zen. The evaluation of Wang Wei's Zen poems is mainly based on the balance between meditation and Zen. They are discussed as follows:

Hu Yinglin's poem in the Ming Dynasty: "You Wang Cheng Chuan's works are published by himself, famous sentences are forgotten, and the color is lost." Huang Shucan's Notes on Tang Poetry: "The poems of Wangchuan are all wonderful and natural, regardless of hue." Comment on Wang Wei's Wangchuan Poems with Prajna's Empty Buddhist View. With the book review of the poem "Chai Lu": "Returning to the scenery, the empty mountains are silent, which is really an elk farm." Elk is a symbol of "authenticity" in Buddhism. "Luyuan" is the place where the Buddha said it was a five-bhikkhu, or where the immortals lived. Compare the deer farm of Buddhism to the empty mountain deer wood under the bare back. It is said that the poem "Chai Lu" is deep in Prajna Paramita, but it is empty. Xu Zeng's "The Tang Poetry of An Shuo": "Every sentence conforms to the holy religion." [2](P5 1 1) points out that Wang Wei is proficient in Buddhism, and his poems are mostly Zen, and every sentence is sacred or exaggerated. Generally speaking, the evaluation is not empty.

Xiang Zu's note leads back to Ying Kui's Essentials of Law: "Youcheng and I are closed to the South Mountain, which is wonderful. For example, the Dream City Depression in Wangchuan, Huazigang, Cornus officinalis Yi, Wu Xinyi and other poems. You Chengsang and He, although each article is only five words and four sentences, are all poor and secluded, and scholars should seriously participate and get it. Wang Yuyang's "The Continuation of Silkworm Tail" once said: "Wang Pei Wang Chuan Jue Ju, every word becomes Zen." . [6](P83) Wang Mosha's five-character quatrains, especially Wang Chuan's poems, won the Zen master's "unique method" and "color emptiness" samadhi, which must be carefully tasted before it can be wonderful.

Guan Shiming's Preface to Reading Tang Poems in Snow Mountain House wrote:

Zen used poetry as a metaphor for people, which was despised by the ancients. However, the realm of poetry lies in enlightenment, and the five words are quiet. Wang Wei and Meng Haoran are witty and homophonic. At the same time, followers such as Chang Jian, Li Jie, Wang Changling, Qi, and Chu Guangxi communicated from a distance, and a gust of wind * * * was the voice of the beginning, which was very popular here. [5](P 1545)

Guan Shiming appreciated the use of Zen as a metaphor for poetry and spoke highly of the Zen in Wang Wei's poems.

"Shi Shuo Xi Yu" volume seventy-one yue:

Wang Youcheng's poems do not need Zen language, but have Zen theory; Dongpo said, "Two hands want to build a bottle of birds, and four are afraid of snakes in the well." It has a aftertaste, doesn't it?

Creating Zen without Zen language is a high evaluation of Youcheng's Zen poems.

The so-called "balancing poetry by Zen" means evaluating the level of poetry by what Zen scholars call the big and small multiplication and the southern and northern sects. For example, Li Taibai's Notes quoted Juyilu Volume 34: "Taste the drama and talk about Tang poetry, Wang Wei's Buddhist language, Meng Haoran's Bodhisattva language, Li Bai's flying fairy language, Du Fu's sacred words and Li language." Here, the author measures four poets in four languages, such as Buddhist, but it is not graceful.

Wang Yuyang said: "Yan Canglang used Zen as a metaphor for poetry, and I deeply agree with him, especially those five words. For example, Wang and Pei's "Poems of Wangchuan" entered Zen every word. He is like "the fruit falls in the rain and the grass flies under the lamp", "there is moonlight in the pine forest and crystal stone in the stream", and Li Bai's "behind her closed window sash, why is she still waiting and looking at the glory of the autumn moon through its crystal glass? ",Chang Jian's" Or be soft and loose, be your own friend ",Haoran's" The woodcutter is lost in the dark, the grass is flying in the cold "and Liu Tuoxu's" Petals come with the wind "are well said by people who understand." [7] It is considered that some quatrains of Wang Wei are no different from "Buddha" and "Smile of Ye Jia" and are excellent works.

On the contrary, some critics think that Wang Wei's poems are mostly written in Zen language and lack Zen meaning. "Kong Yiji" says: "Wang Wei's poems are like Zen, and those who are humble are like monks, so they should serve the Buddha." [2](P5 1 1) points out that boring and lively Zen poems coexist in Wang Wei's works. The old man in Hanshan in Ming Dynasty also thought that Wang Wei's poems were mostly written in Zen language, which was really a wave of fame, not a good Zen:

In the past, when people talked about poetry, they all compared it with Zen. Little imagine, poetry is really Zen. Tao Jingjie said, "Pick chrysanthemums under the east fence and see Nanshan leisurely. The mountains are getting better and better, and the birds are back. " At the end of the cloud, "this makes sense. I forgot to say it if I wanted to argue." These sentences are regarded as poems, which are equivalent to being read by a child. People in the Tang Dynasty made their own mysteries only in Li Taibai, but they could speak without understanding Zen. If Victoria believes in Buddhism, future generations will try to praise Zen, but it is not Zen. Zen ears of special characters. If it weren't for Tao Li's writing style.

The Diamond Sutra says that "the so-called Buddhists are not Buddhists", who have a heart but no intention to send it, and have enlightenment but no enlightenment, which is the realm of Zen. Unintentional meditation is the realm of Zen poetry. Those who enter poetry in Buddhist language have Buddhist language and Buddhism in their hearts and are in a state of self-discipline and cannot enter the metaphysical realm. No wonder Hanshan, as one of the four eminent monks in Ming Dynasty, is called "non-Zen".

3. Banana debate in the snow

Wang Wei is not only good at poetry, but also the pioneer of Nanzong painting. There have always been many comments on the relationship between his paintings and Zen, especially on "Banana in the Snow" in Yuan An's Sleeping Snow Picture. To sum up, there are probably two things: one is to argue about the existence of "snow banana"; The first is to argue about the meaning of "snow banana". A few examples are as follows:

There is a saying in Song Hong's "Wang Bajiao Map" that "the banana in the snow loses its cold and heat", and the banana is not in the snow. Song Zhong's "Miscellaneous Notes" says: "Outside the ridge, it is like Qujiang. It snows heavily in winter, bananas are self-sufficient, and red bananas begin to blossom. I know that the predecessors painted history meticulously. Hong Zuo's poems can't go out of the ridge. " [2](P539) "Notes on Xiangzu" Volume 10: "After crossing the ridge, the banana will not wither in winter, and you will know that the banana in the snow is not easy to discuss, especially in Guangdong." In the "Gui Si Cun Draft", it says: "There are plantains in the snow in the south." All the above theories think that the scene in Wang Li is real. It exists beyond the ridge, but it is not easy to see.

The opposite view is that bananas in the snow are purely fallacious. The third volume of Wen Hai Pi Sha written by Ming Metabolism thinks that "snow banana" is a mistake: "Painting is like writing, if you are not careful, you will make mistakes. For example, the banana in the snow in Wang Youcheng is widespread in Fujian, but it is extremely cold in Guanzhong. How is it possible?

The second is to demonstrate the meaning. Zhang Tang and Yan Yuan's Painting Theory: "Wang Wei's paintings are prosperous, regardless of the four seasons. Flowers are picturesque, often with peaches, apricots, hibiscus and lotus flowers as the scenery; Draw Yuan An Sleeping in the Snow. There are bananas in the snow. This is handy, and it works when it comes to meaning, so it is naive to be obsessed with reason. (Xuanhe Calligraphy and Painting History Society, recorded by Zhang Chou in Qinghe Painting Academy) Meng Qian Bi Tan says: "The beauty of calligraphy and painting is based on God, but hard to find. Most world observers can criticize the defects of images, positions and colors. As for Austrian creators, it is even rarer. " [2](P539) quoted from "Painting Review". "The original landscape painting" said, "Like bananas in the snow, unless you have eyes, you can do nothing." [2](P526) Hui Hong commented: "Poets have wonderful views on what they think, how can they limit their minds? "Wang Wei drew a banana in the snow, and at first glance he knew that his expression was in something; The popular theory is that it doesn't know cold and heat. " [8] (P42) This kind of comments mostly think that Wang Wei's paintings are to arouse the gods and can't sit on them. Hui Hong associated this morality with Buddhism, but it is not clear what this morality embodies. He just commented on it with "fantastic ideas".

In Wang Shizhen, poetry and painting became one. "People all say that Wang Youcheng drew a banana in the snow, and so did his poems. For example, the maple trees in Jiujiang are green several times, the five lakes in Yangzhou are white, and the names of Lanling Town, Fuchun Town and Shiguo Town are far apart. Generally speaking, ancient poetry and painting only took the pleasure of meeting God, but if you carve a boat for a sword, it will lose its meaning. ("Ikebukuro Talk" Volume 18) His view is still not the word "Xing in God".

4. The influence of ancient studies on Wang Wei and Buddhism.

Although the above research on Wang Wei and Buddhism and Zen is brief in some places, it has generally laid the general pattern of Wang Wei's Buddhism and Zen research in the 20th century. In the 20th century, the research on Wang Wei and Buddhism and Zen basically focused on the above three aspects. The first is the study of Buddhism and Zen, which discusses the factors of Buddhism and Zen in Wang Wei's thoughts and beliefs, especially the close relationship between Wang Wei and Zen, and points out that there are still beliefs such as pure scholars in Wang Wei's thoughts, and the research is gradually deepening. The second is the study of Wang Wei's Zen poems. This part is the focus of Wang Wei's research, with the most papers, most of which discuss the Zen in Wang Wei's poems. There are also a considerable number of articles on the influence of Buddhism and Zen on Wang Wei's poems.

Thirdly, the study of Wang Wei's paintings and Zen Buddhism is still mainly focused on the "banana in the snow" in Yuan An's Sleeping Snow Map. In addition to the recognition of the ancients' "promoting Zen", it is mainly to reveal the meaning behind it. For example, Mr. Wang and Chen and others think it is to preach Buddhist teachings.