The bond between nature and man: relevance of Wang Wei\u27s and William Wordsworth\u27s nature poetry as the remedy of man/nature dualism

This is a study of the contemporary relevance of Wang Wei\u27s and William Wordsworth\u27s nature poetry with regard to man/ nature dualism. Wang and Wordsworth are two poets from totally different time and space, nevertheless their poetry does illustrate the interrelation between man and nature. On the other hand, man/ nature dualism is a topic which has long been addressed by philosophers and intellectuals of both Easter and Western cultures. As nature poetry and man/ nature dualism are closely related, I am curious to know how Wang Wei and William Wordsworth would respond to the topic. Therefore, the objective of this project is to find out the relevant values, ideologies and beliefs embedded in Wang\u27s and Wordsworth\u27s poetry in response to man/ nature dualism. In this paper, fourteen poems are selected from the two poets (six from Wang Wei and eight from William Wordsworth) and a detailed study of each will be shown in the discussion session. The discussion session is divided into three parts according to the poems\u27 themes, ideologies and values. The first part, \u27The Silenced Self and Transcendental Self in Nature’, discusses the significance of silence in nature that is able to connect man and nature. The second part, \u27The Melting of Self into Nature\u27, further investigates how humans can merge with nature, a seemingly different entity. The third part, \u27Establishing Relations with Nature, a relation that evolves\u27, is an account of how the two poets experience nature and gain their insights