Wei Yingwu (韋應, ca. 737-792), wrote many of his poems in the style of the earlier poet Tao Qian, (365-427), who was, for much of his life, a recluse. Rhyme was an important element in Wei’s poems which often cover the subject of nature. English comparisons are to William Wordsworth and the other Lake poets. American comparisons can be to Walt Whitman or Robert Frost.
Wei Yingwu lived through the turbulent An Lushan Rebellion (755 to 763), afterwards holding office as magistrate of Hu County, near Chang’an, and Yueyang on the shores of Dongting Lake. He was later governor of Chuzhou (784), Jiangzhou (785), and finally, Suzhou (787-792), where he died.
100 Tang Poems 