Ding Wei's opponent Wang Zeng (王曾) claimed that Ding was considered one of the "Five Devils", along with Wang Qinruo, Lin Te (林特), Chen Pengnian (陳彭年) and Liu Chenggui (劉承珪), a group of high-ranking ministers unpopular at the time.
In the centuries to follow, Ding Wei has almost always been portrayed as a treacherous minister in popular fiction.
Ding Wei once wrote a prose essay with his friend Sun He (孫何) that quite impressed Wang Yucheng, a leading literati.
Wang Yucheng considered their writing the best in China since Han Yu and Liu Zongyuan almost two centuries ago.
Upon his return, he presented a report on salt and tea, and was made fiscal commissioner.