Zhang Xuecheng of the Qing Dynasty commented on "Poetry" "deeply traced from the six arts", revealing the relationship between "Poetry" and "Book of Songs" very accurately.
Although "Poems" mainly evaluates the achievements of five-character poems by literati from the Han, Wei and Qi and Liang Dynasties, it is impossible to talk about it without the tradition of "Book of Songs".
So, how did Zhong Rong's "Poems" accept and carry forward the "Book of Songs" tradition?
First of all, while highlighting the advantages of the five-character poetry system, Zhong Rong did not deny the exemplary value of the Book of Songs.
In the general preface of "Poems", he said: "Four words have a wide range of meanings. If you follow the example of "Wind" and "Sao", you can get more. The essence of Juwen's words is the tasteful ones written by many people, so it will become popular." The four words here refer to the "Book of Songs".
Zhong Rong's discussion of "literary and meaning broad" is not contradictory to the following "literary but less meaning". The former is based on the characteristics of the "Book of Songs", while the latter is a comment on the creation of four-character poems since the Han and Wei Dynasties.
He believes that the "Book of Songs", which is mainly composed of four-character sentences, has the characteristics of concise language and profound meaning, and the subsequent creation of four-character poems should be "following the example of "Wind" and "Sao", and it will be more rewarding. However, compared with the "Book of Songs", it is far from the creation achievements. The prose and meaning are shallow, and the connotation is insufficient. Coupled with the rise of five-character poems, since the end of the Han Dynasty, literati have turned to the creation of five-character poems.
Ye Changqing, a scholar of the Republic of China, explained Zhong Rong's words: "To build the four-character system, and to prepare the "Pa classics", it is extremely extreme, and it is contemptuous to add. It is also the inevitable trend of the trend." (Introduction to Ye Changqing's "Zhong Rong's Poetry Collection") Han Yu's "Jin Xue Interpretation" said that "Poetry is upright and beautiful", and "Pa Jing" is "Book of Songs".
Although Zhong Rong emphasized that the five-character poetry is "the one who refers to things, creates shapes, writes things in detail, and is the most detailed", and is "the one who has the taste of many works"; however, he did not put the characteristics of "fengshi" and "broad text and meaning". obliterate.
Second, Zhong Rong attaches great importance to the tradition of "the style of the poet".
He criticized the writing of five-character poems by literati in the Han Dynasty based on this standard. There are only one person, only one person. The poet's style has been lost. In Tokyo's two hundred years, only Ban Gu's "Yong Shi" has no literary quality." Zhong Rong pointed out very sadly that the literati and doctors of the Han Dynasty were keen on poetry and fu, but Lost the "poet's style", the tradition of creating poetry in the "Book of Songs" era.
In addition, judging from his comments on Ban Gu's "Yongshi" poem, "the quality of the wood is not literate", the implicit evaluation standard is the euphemistic and subtle aesthetic taste of "Guofeng". The so-called "poet's style" also refers to the Han Dynasty. Literati poetry has lost the tradition of "wind poetry" which is intended to be beyond words.
More importantly, Zhong Rong deduced the five-character poems of literati from the Han, Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties to "Wind" and "Ya".
According to Zhong Rong's tracing of the origin, there are generally the "Guofeng" school, the "Xiaoya" school and the "Chu Ci" school.
Among them, Zhong Rong is particularly fond of the "Guofeng" school.
He discussed the high-grade "Ancient Poems" "sad and far-reaching, thrilling, almost a thousand words", so it originated from "Guofeng" with "broad text and meaning".
Zhong Rong also discussed that the top-grade Cao Zhi poems also "originated from "Guofeng".
He commented on Cao Shi as "love and resentment".
What is "gracious resentment"?
Some scholars believe that the "elegance" of Cao's poems comes from the "Book of Songs", and the "resentment" comes from the "Chu Ci"; No hurt, no resentment, no anger" emotional characteristics.
The author believes that "elegance" means righteousness, and the feelings of "elegance" and "resentment" are in line with the "Book of Songs" tradition and are in line with the rightness of temperament.
As far as style is concerned, Zhong Rong commented on Cao's poetry's "literary quality". Cao's emotional expression is both subtle and clear; Often intended beyond words, without losing euphemism.
Zhong Rong believes that Cao Zhi's five-character poems have reached the height of "National Style" in both emotional nature and artistic style.
Ruan Ji is the only "Xiao Ya" poet identified by Zhong Rong.
Ruan Ji's poems are listed in the top grade, and Zhong Rong commented that "the foreigners are almost familiar with "Feng" and "Ya", although they have the characteristics of "Feng" and "Ya", they are closer to "Xiaoya".
Sima Qian's "Historical Records" quoted Liu An's words as "Xiaoya" complained and slandered without being chaotic. Zhu Xi's "Anthology of Poetry" believed that "Ya" changed "Ya" as "all the wise men and gentlemen of the time, and the behavior of the sick and common in the Min."
The content of Ruan Ji's "Yonghuai Poetry", "every worry about life" and "intent to ridicule", is quite consistent with the main purpose of "Xiaoya".
From the perspective of the relationship between words and meanings, Zhong Rong also commented on "Yong Huai Poetry": "Words are within the eyes and ears, and feelings are sent to the table of the eight wastes", "Juezhi is released, and it is difficult to find the return."
"Wen Xin Diao Long" also said "Ruan Zhi is far away".
Zhong Rong's evaluation is naturally metaphysical, but he also attaches great importance to the connection between Ruan Shi and "Xiao Ya".
In the book "Poetry Source Debate", Xu Xueyi, a late Ming poetry critic, discussed the style of the "Ya" poetry: "Right and elegant, straightforward and orderly, but the words are obvious; the change of elegance is circuitous, but the words are more profound." Judging from the context, Xu Lun's change of elegance is changed to "Xiao Ya", and Ruan Ji's style of poetry is obviously quite consistent with the style of "Xiao Ya".
Zhong Rong's assessment is correct.
Then, why is there no "Daya" poetry school in the five-character poetry origin system constructed by Zhong Rong?
"Da Ya" said the government of the Son of Heaven.
In the original "Ya", it said that the general government of the king was serious; while the "Ya" was changed, the "Poems Preface" of Han Zhengxuan said "it began with King Li".
Tang Kong Yingda's "Mao Shi Zhengyi" said that "the king's government has declined, and he has become "elegant" as well."
Song Zhuxi's "Biography of Poems" also believes that "the changes in "Ya" are also the actions of the wise men and gentlemen of the time, and the actions of the sick and common in the Min.
Ming Xu Xueyi's "Poetry Source Debate Style" also discusses the difference between changing style and changing elegant style: "Bending style and changing elegance, although they are both ironic, but the words are different. Changing elegance is different from the poems of King Xuan, and those who are sincere are ten The ninth is one of ten who are subtle. If you change the style, your language is subtle." Inferring from the context, Xu's discussion of changing "Ya" refers to changing "Da Ya".
The five-character poems of the literati of the Han, Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties were indeed rarely changed into the "Da Ya" and other outspoken words to warn the king, so Zhong Rong could not distinguish the "Da Ya" faction; I am more interested in the poetic style of "Guo Feng", which is euphemistic and subtle but not obscure.
Equally important, "Poetry" takes "dry it with wind, moisten it with Dancai" as the standard for the creation of five-character poems, which is also closely related to the "Book of Songs".
The connotation of "wind force" is close to the "wind bone" proposed in Liu Xie's "Wen Xin Diao Long", and "feng bone" is not unrelated to the teaching of "Poetry".
The opening chapter of "Wen Xin Diao Long Feng Bone" states: "The poems have six meanings, the wind crowns the head, the source of allelopathy, and the sign of ambition." Liu Xie attaches great importance to the "Poetry Preface" "above and above" The Confucian indoctrination effect of "under the weather, the wind pierces the upper", believes that there is an inseparable connection between the artistic appeal of "fenggu" and the allelopathy of "national style".
Zhong Rong also attaches great importance to the inheritance and development of the allegorical spirit of the Book of Songs by the authors of the five-character poems.
For example, he commented that Zuo Si's poems in the Western Jin Dynasty originated from Liu Zhen's poems in Jian'an, which are also listed in the top grade. He said that Zuo Si's poems are "literary in terms of resentment, quite clear, and have the effect of irony", and irony means euphemism.
Liu Zhen's "Giving to the Servant Brother" and Zuo Si's "Epic Song" all embody a certain realistic spirit of criticizing reality and reflecting on history.
Zhong Rong listed He Yan's poems as a middle grade, and commented on the "wind rule see" in the chapter of "Honghu", "wind rule" means "sarcasm".
He Yan's "Yanzhi Poetry" has the saying "Honghu swims against the wings, and the group flies to play too clear. I often fear that it will be caught, and I am worried that disasters will be combined", which reflects and satirizes the social and political conditions at that time.
Zhong Rong also discussed that Yingquan's poems originated from Cao Pi, and commented on his poems as "the purpose of being stimulated by poets". The legacy is also straight.", "Selected Works" Li Shan's annotation quoted Li Chong's "Hanlin Lun", saying: "Ying Xiulian five-character poems hundreds of dozens of poems, governing the way with wind rules, with the purpose of the poet." All the schools said Yingquan " "One Hundred and One Poems" obtained the purpose of the "Book of Songs" author's right to gain and lose, and to change customs.
Zhong Rong also commented that Tao Yuanming's poems "originated from Yingquan, but also cooperated with Zuo Sifeng", and Tao's "Tian Jiayu" implied a criticism of the real officialdom in line with Yingquan and Zuo Si.
However, because Zhong Rong attached great importance to the literary style of five-character poems, he often used "Dan Cai" as one of the important criteria to distinguish the upper, middle and lower grades.
Zhong Rong placed Yingquan and Tao Yuanming's poems with relatively simple language in the middle grades; while Liu Zhen, Zuo Si and others, although "breathing more than their prose", still did not lose their elegance, so they were listed as top grades.
Zhong Rong advocated both style and literary talent. In the Tang Dynasty, Chen Ziang, Li Bai, etc. held up the tradition of the Book of Songs. Comparatively speaking, this not only reflects the personality differences of poetry critics and poets, but also reflects the times, social environment, and poetry. The influence of its own development on poetry theory.
Nevertheless, investigating Zhong Rong's inheritance and development of the "Book of Songs" tradition is an important perspective for us to interpret the "Poems".
(Author: Wang Qunhong, professor at the School of Literature, Jiangxi Normal University)