SOURCE: "Discovering Chinese Poetry (an insight into three poems by Wang Wei)," in The Diliman Review, Vol. XVIII, No. 1, January, 1970, pp. 91-6.

In the following essay, the critic examines the function of imagery in Chinese nature poems.

 "My Hermitage in the Bamboo Grove"

Deep in the bamboo grove, sitting alone,
I thrum my lute as I whistle a tune.
No one knows I am in this thicket
Save the bright moon looking down on me. 

 "With Official Lu Hsiang, Passing Hermit Ts'ui Hsin-Chung's Bower"

Green forests cover the four directions with dense deep shade.
Every day untrodden mosses cushion the courtyard more thickly in bluish gray.
Under tall pines the hermit sprawls, leg outstretched,
Turning upon the vulgar crowd only the whites of his eyes. 

 "Light Verse on a Rock"

I pity the inert rock by a flowing stream
And the willows trailing fingers into my wine-cup …
But...