China News Agency, Beijing, January 8, title: How to see the Chinese nation community from classical poetry?
Author Monman Professor of Minzu University of China
The Chinese nation is a nation of poetry.
"Gongyang Biography" says: "The hungry sing about their food, and the laborers sing about their work." The "hungry" and "workers" here have actually covered all ethnic groups in Chinese history.
Every nation has its own singing voice. At the same time, the classical poems recited in Chinese and written in Chinese have a wider tolerance and appeal, allowing all the nations living in this land of China to sing with it. As a medium, it sings about life and expresses emotions, and also casts the aesthetic taste and common spiritual temperament shared by the Chinese nation.
As a pearl in China's splendid culture, classical poetry itself reflects the historical process of the Chinese nation's solidarity and the spiritual brilliance of emotional integration.
In Mianyang City, Sichuan Province, children participated in a poetry recitation competition.
Photo by Tang Pingying
Co-creation of all Chinese nationalities
The ancient Chinese divided the crowd into Zhuxia, "Dongyi", "Xirong", "Beidi" and "Nanman" according to their geographical location.
The "Book of Songs" has contained the voices of different groups of people.
"The Book of Songs Song of Shang Xuanniao" says: "The mysterious bird of destiny descended to give birth to Shang." Isn't the royal family with Shang the "Dongyi" people?
The northeastern peoples of China generally worship birds and have legends about the origin of bird eggs giving birth to children. The earliest documentary evidence of this unique regional culture is the "Book of Songs: Mysterious Birds".
In "The Book of Songs·Xiaoya·Caiwei", "In the past, I went away, and the willows are Yiyi. Now I come to think about it, and it is raining and snowing." Since then, the long wicker has the image of parting sorrow and lovesickness.
"Caiwei" recites the war between the Zhou people and the "Xi Rong" Xiong, but the ancestors of the Zhou people originally originated from "Xi Rong".
In the cemetery of Zhao's family, a hereditary aristocrat of the Zhou Dynasty, in the east of Beibai'e Village, Yuanqu County, Yuncheng City, a copper jar with a tiger pattern with extravagant mouth is attracting attention.
Copper jars with such shapes and patterns could not be found in the Central Plains, but they were widely found among the nomadic people in the northwest region at that time, which once again reminded people of the inextricable connection between the Western Zhou Dynasty and Xirong.
The ancestors of the Zhou people wandered back and forth between farming and nomadic pastoralism, and finally embarked on the road of Central Plains until they became one of the "three generations" that laid the foundation of the Chinese nation and created a uniquely Chinese characteristic ritual and music civilization.
And this process from west to east, from "Rong" to "Xia", has long been recorded in the touching chapters of "The Book of Songs".
128 groups of more than 300 cultural relics, including the "luxury car" of Xirong Yiqu and the inscription on the tomb of the Duke of Qin, were unveiled at the Qinshihuang Mausoleum Museum in Xi'an, unveiling the mystery of Qin culture and Xirong culture.
Tian Jinshe
In the treasure house of classical poetry of the Chinese nation, there are two well-known translated poems, one is "Chile Song", which reflects the vigorous strength of the northern people, and the other is "Yue Ren Song", which reflects the tenderness of Baiyue people .
"Chilechuan, under the Yin Mountain. The sky is like a hut, covering the four fields. The sky is blue, the fields are vast, and the wind blows the grass and the cattle and sheep are low." In 546 AD, the Eastern Wei Dynasty was defeated in the Battle of Yubi.
In the gloomy atmosphere, Hu Lujin, a general from the Chile tribe, sang the song "Chile Song". The majestic and desolate singing moved everyone. Everyone is the son and daughter of Chilechuan. How could they be willing to die in another country? ?
In this way, the morale of the army was inspired again, and the army was saved.
When Hu Lujin sang, what language did he use?
Some people think it is Chile language, some people think it is Xianbei language, but in any case it cannot be Chinese.
Later, someone translated it into Chinese, and only then did the wonderful "Chile Song" we see today come into being.
The Chile people, who are good at fighting, have already disappeared in the wind and smoke of history, but as long as the "Chile Song" is still there, the Chile people will be immortal forever.
Scenery of Chilechuan National Grassland Natural Park.
Wang Zhengshe
The story of "Yue Ren Song" is earlier and more legendary.
During the Spring and Autumn Period, Zixi, the son of Chu State, was granted the title of Lord E.
At that time, Edi was still dominated by Yue people.
One night, when Zibai was sailing in a boat, the Yue people who punted for him sang impromptuly: "What time is this evening, when is the boat going to the island, what day is today, I will be in the same boat with the prince. I am ashamed and shamed by the good ones, and I am very upset But I know the prince. There are trees in the mountains, and there are branches in the trees, and the heart is pleasing to the king, and the king does not know." This is such a touching emotion.
Immediately, according to the etiquette of Chu people, Zi Xi put both hands on Fuyue's shoulders, and solemnly put a silk quilt embroidered with beautiful patterns on his body.
The state of Chu originally belonged to the "Southern Man", and the Yue people were even called "Jué (jué) Tongue and Bird Language". In the poem, the Vietnamese tone of the poem is also recorded.
What Zixi heard was the Chu language translation, but the version we see today has undergone more complicated translation and processing.
The Vietnamese and Chu languages were no longer in use, but this poem, which communicated the hearts of Chu and Yue, has become a classic of Chinese classical poetry, moving generations of Chinese people.
Solo "Yue Ren Song".
Zhang Changshe
In the creation team of classical poetry, there have always been many surrounding ethnic minorities.
Taking the poets of the Tang Dynasty as an example, many scholars believe that Bai Juyi, the great poet of the Tang Dynasty, came from the royal family of Kucha, Yuan Zhen was a descendant of the Xianbei royal family, and Liu Yuxi had the blood of the Huns... These shining names have proved time and time again that classical poetry is not It only belongs to the Han nationality, but has always been jointly created by all ethnic groups in China.
Different life scenes, common national spirit
Classical poetry is jointly created by all ethnic groups in China, and it also reflects the different living conditions of various ethnic groups in China.
When talking about the nomadic life in the north, we often think of Gao Shi's "Yingzhou Song"; when talking about the customs of the Ba people in the Tang Dynasty, we immediately think of Liu Yuxi's "Bamboo Branch Ci".
Liu Yuxi is a descendant of the Huns in the north, but he portrayed the life of the children in the southwest of the Tang Dynasty so delicately. He also used the tune and style of folk songs in the Bayu area to create a new style of poetry full of strong folk songs - Zhuzhi Ci.
"The sun rises in the east and rains in the west, and there is no sunshine in the road, but there is sunshine." What is sung in the poem is not only the weather, but also the mood that comes from and embraces all sentient children?
From the Great Wall in the north to the Five Ridges in the south, from the camel caravans in the Western Regions to the fishing boats in the East China Sea, the different life scenes of various ethnic groups in China appear in classical poems, letting us know how big and beautiful China is.
"Dream Touring Bayu Twelve Scenes" light and shadow interactive art space attracts tourists to experience the beautiful scenery of Bayu.
Photo by Zhou Yi
The life scenes of different regions and nationalities are different, but the national sentiment and spirit of the Chinese nation are closely related.
The Chinese nation is a nation that loves its hometown and loves the motherland. Poets, no matter what nationality they are, use poetry as a medium to express their deep love for hometown and family and country.
In the writings of poets from the Central Plains, the grasslands in the north are often covered with decaying grass and yellow clouds covering the sun, which inevitably has a sense of bleakness.
However, the "Five Poems of Immediate Events in Shangjing" written by Sadura, a Huihui poet in the Yuan Dynasty, showed us a completely different emotional tone.
"Cows and sheep are scattered under the setting sun, and the wild grass grows fragrant cheese. The wind and sand are like snow, and the tents are covered with felt curtains." Why do poets feel that the wild grass is so fragrant, the cheese is so sweet, and the felt tents are so warm?
Because this is the hometown of the children of the prairie.
As long as it is the hometown where he grew up, it will arouse the poet's sincere nostalgia. This kind of feeling of "Humayi North Wind, Yue Bird's Nest South Branch" is the feeling of hometown shared by the Chinese nation.
In the Xilin Gol League of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, herdsmen shoot a short video of grassland dance.
Photo by Liu Wenhua
Let's talk about family and country feelings.
In the first half of the twelfth century, two regimes emerged in China, the Jin in the north and the Southern Song in the south.
Yue Fei, a patriotic general in the Southern Song Dynasty, wrote "Man Jianghong": "Wait to start again, clean up the old mountains and rivers, and turn to the sky!"
But less than 20 years after Yue Fei's death, Emperor Wan Yanliang of the Jin Dynasty made a large-scale southern expedition in an attempt to unify China.
At that time, he also wrote a poem "Inscribed Lin'an Mountains and Waters": "When thousands of miles of cars and books are confused, how can there be a different border in the south of the Yangtze River? With a million troops on the West Lake, the first peak of Mount Wu will be immediately!" This means that this Jurchen-born The emperor of the clan also regarded the unification of China as his highest dream.
On the surface, the words and poems have different sentiments, and Yue Fei and Wan Yanliang are also enemies of each other, but these two people actually share a consensus that China should not be separated, and the North and the South must be unified.
Isn't this the family and country feelings of the Chinese people from ancient times to the present?
The different living scenes and lifestyles in the southeast and northwest cannot prevent people from gradually forming a common national spirit.
The incubating Cantonese opera "The Soul of Loyalty" was staged at the Jiangnan Theater in Guangzhou.
Photo by Xu Jianmei
The common spiritual wealth of the Chinese nation
Classical poetry has the deepest mass base in China, to a large extent because it has the widest range of themes, the richest emotions and the most national aesthetics.
It describes the seasons and praises the heroes. We are familiar with this neat and sonorous rhythm since we were young. We love it because of familiarity and pass it on because of love.
We grew up reciting the same poems and using the same lines to express our emotions about life. This is the cultural gene passed down from generation to generation by the Chinese people, and it is also the cultural code through which Chinese people recognize each other.
The actors recite Du Fu's "Jiangnan Meets Li Guinian".
Photo by Yang Huafeng
In history, the Chinese used poetry to sing about life and express their emotions. They also used poetry to infiltrate people's hearts and educate future generations, and finally became a poetic nation.
Throughout the history of poetry development in the world, there are many long war epics in the West, such as "Iliad" and "Odyssey", which reflect the changing fate of heroes in the Trojan War; while there are many short and concise lyric poems in China, such as Li Bai's "Quiet Night Thoughts" expresses the homesickness of an ordinary person under the eternal moonlight.
Of course we have no intention of comparing the length of the two cultural traditions, but the war will always pass, but the emotions will always flow in people's hearts, making the hearts of all singers more and more warm and united, and finally become as firm as pomegranate seeds. The united Chinese nation.
The pastries of Tang poems sold in the "Tang Shifang" of Xi'an Datang Everbright City are exquisitely carved with poems and characters, and have a strong classical cultural temperament.
Photo by Peng Hua
In 1682, Emperor Kangxi made a tour of the Kanto due to the pacification of Yunnan, and paid homage to Fengtian's ancestral mausoleum. The famous poet Nalan Xingde accompanied him as a bodyguard.
After leaving Shanhaiguan, the wind and snow were misty, Nalan Xingde missed the capital and his family, and wrote a famous "Long Lovesickness": "A journey through the mountains, a journey through the water, walking towards the bank of Yuguan, and a thousand tents in the middle of the night Lights. The wind changes, the snow changes, and the dreams of the hometown are broken, and the hometown has no sound." The hometown here refers to the capital of Beijing, but what is interesting is that Nalan Xingde was born in the Yehenala family in Manchuria. , his hometown was originally outside Yuguan (Shanhaiguan), but at this time, less than forty years have passed since the Manchurians entered the pass.
Forty years have been enough for poets to get used to Beijing and the Central Plains, and even "deny that other places are their hometowns".
In fact, Nalan Xingde's cognition is not wrong, because no matter which direction we come from, east, west, north, south, we all have the same hometown - China.
(Finish)
About the Author:
Professor and doctoral supervisor of the School of History and Culture, Minzu University of China.
His research fields are the history of the Sui, Tang and Five Dynasties and the history of women in ancient China.