Laughing Lost in the Mountains

Wang Wei  was one of the most celebrated poets of China's Tang Dynasty (618-907). An influential painter and practitioner of Chan (Zen) Buddhism many of his poems contain concise and evocative descriptions of nature whose elegant minimalism offers subtle expression of a transcendence from everyday life. While this purity of poetic expression is what Wang Wei's reputation is built upon he lived a courtly life of highs and lows in a tumultuous era suffering demotions and exile imprisonment and rehabilitation all of which are evidenced in his verse. Wang Wei's poems grapple with the trappings of worldly life and the quest for enlightenment painting a complex picture of both his psyche and his Chan discipline. <i>Laughing Lost in the Mountains</i> includes translations of poems running the spectrum of Wang Wei's subjects as well as an extensive introduction that sheds light on Wang Wei's craft spirituality and historical context.