Artistic conception is an important category of Chinese classical aesthetics. It is probably difficult to find an equivalent concept and terminology in Western literary theory. People may think that the word "artistic conception" was coined by Wang Guowei, but this is not the case. Long before Wang Guowei advocated the theory of artistic conception, some people had already used the term artistic conception and discussed the artistic conception of poetry. Although the study of artistic conception cannot leave behind the theory of artistic conception of the Three Kingdoms, it cannot be trapped by it either. Starting from the creative practice of Chinese classical poetry and contacting ancient literary and artistic theories, we can summarize the artistic experience of ancient poets in creating artistic conception in a broad range, explore the artistic rules of expressing artistic conception in classical poetry, and provide useful insights for today's poetry creation and poetry criticism. Learn from.
1. The fusion of artistic conception and artistic conception
In ancient Chinese traditional literary theory, artistic conception refers to the artistic realm formed by the fusion of the author's subjective feelings and the objective physical environment. The formation of this aesthetic category is the positive result of summarizing long-term creative practice experience.
Earlier poetic theory did not pay attention to the relationship between the subjective and objective aspects of creation. "Shangshu? Yushu? Shun Dian" says: "Poetry expresses ambition." "Xunzi? Confucian Xiaopian" says: "Poetry expresses ambition." They only regard poetry as the expression of subjective emotions. When talking about music, "Book of Rites and Music" says: "Every sound originates from the heart. When the human heart moves, things make it happen." Although it involves objective objects, it only talks about feeling things moving the heart. So far, the relationship between the human heart and the physical environment has not been discussed. After the Wei and Jin Dynasties, with the prosperity of poetry, on the basis of summarizing creative experience, we had a deeper understanding of the relationship between subjectivity and objectivity in literary creation. Liu Xie's "Wen Xin Diao Long? Shen Si Pian" said: Therefore, thinking about principles is wonderful, and the gods and things wander. God resides in the heart, and ambition governs its key points; things follow the ears and eyes, and words govern its cardinals.
He pointed out that the secret of the law of conception lies in "the wandering of gods and objects", that is, the integration and blending of the writer's subjective spirit and the objective physical environment. Wang Changling, a famous poet in the Tang Dynasty, said that when writing poetry, one must "be in the situation and see the situation in the heart." It requires that the heart and objects "feel together" and that the scenery and meaning "coexist" and "coexist with each other." It also emphasizes the subjectivity and objectivity. Blending relationship. He also said:
There are three kinds of poetic thoughts: searching for images, entering the mind into the situation, knowing the spirit in things, getting it by the heart, and thinking about it every day. Use your energy to think, but without understanding the image, exhausted and mentally exhausted, let your mind calm down, your mind will be illuminated by the situation, and you will be born quickly, and your thoughts will arise every day. After pondering the preface, chanting and satirizing the ancient system, I feel thoughtful and grateful every day.
Here are the three processes by which poetic thoughts arise. Thinking means actively searching for objective objects with subjective spirit in order to achieve the state of mind; thinking means not actively searching, but unexpectedly reaching the understanding of mind and state. Reflections are poetic thoughts inspired by previous works. Among them, taking thoughts and generating thoughts are the integration of mind and environment. "Wen Jing Mi Fu Lun? Essay Meaning" is based on Wang Changling's "Poetry" according to his autobiography, and it also talks about the relationship between thoughts and situations many times. For example:
When you put your mind into writing a poem, you need to concentrate on it; when you see something, you hit it with your heart and penetrate deeply into its environment.
Sikong Tu at the end of the Tang Dynasty was in "Comments on Poems with Wang Jia". It talks about "Thinking and Situation Measures"; Su Cheng in the Song Dynasty. In the second volume of "Dongpo's Inscriptions and Postscripts", he commented on Tao's poems: "Scenery and intention meet"; in the Ming Dynasty, He Jingming talked about "image correspondence" in "On Poetry and Books with Li Kong"; Wang Shizhen talked about "spiritual response" in "Yiyuan Yanyan" "In line with the scene";
As for the word artistic conception, it has also appeared in "Poetry". "Poetry" combines the artistic conception with the physical realm and the situation, and calls it the three realms:
Poetry has three realms: one day, the object realm. If you want to write a landscape poem, the scenery of Zhang Quan's rocks, clouds and peaks is extremely beautiful. The spirit is in your heart, you are in the scenery, you see the scenery in the palm of your hand, and then you use your mind to understand the scenery, so you can get the shape. Two-day situation. Entertainment, sorrow and resentment are all spread out in the mind and in the body, and then I think deeply about them. Three days of artistic conception. If you open it to your mind and think about it in your heart, you will get its truth.
Later, Zhu Chengjue of the Ming Dynasty said in his "Cun Yu Tang Poetry":
The beauty of writing poetry lies in the integration of artistic conception, and the true flavor can be obtained beyond the sound.
Pan Deyu of the Qing Dynasty said in "Yang Yizhai Poems":
"The benefits of one year are that the frost is light and the dust is collected, and the mountains and rivers are like washing." Compared with the sentence "Orange-green-orange-yellow", there is artistic conception.
However, it was Wang Guowei who vigorously promoted artistic conception and explored its meaning in depth. The term "artistic conception" became popular only after his promotion. Artistic conception, he sometimes calls it realm. "Human Words" says:
Canglang's so-called interest and Ruan Ting's so-called charm are not just their appearance. It would be better for me to extract the word realm to explore their roots. It is better to talk about temperament and charm than to talk about realm. There is realm, temperament, charm, and the end.
There is a realm and the two follow.
This statement seems to be self-proclaimed, but it is not unreasonable. Several influential theories of poetry in ancient China, such as Yan Yu's interest theory, Wang Shimo's charm theory, and Yuan Mei's spirit theory, although each has its own uniqueness, all of them only emphasize the subjective emotional side of the poet. The so-called interest refers to the poet's creative impulse and the feeling of joy and excitement when he is full of interest. The so-called charm refers to the demeanor of the poet beyond his promises. The so-called spirit refers to the true feelings and clarity of the poet when he creates. And these are all things that belong to the poet's subjective spirit. What makes Wang Guowei superior to them is that he not only pays attention to the subjective emotional side of the poet, but also pays attention to the objective physical side; the two must be blended to produce artistic conception. He said in "Preface to the Manuscript of the Same World":
Literary matters, which are enough to carry oneself internally and move people externally, are just two things: meaning and context. In the first place, the mind and the environment are confused, and secondly, either the mind wins or the state wins. Without one of them, it is not enough to describe literature.
In "Human Words", he also said: Those who can depict true scenery and feel true feelings are said to have realm, otherwise they are said to have no realm. There is the creation of a scene, and there is a description of the scene. This is the origin of the two schools of idealism and realism. However, it is difficult to distinguish between the two, because the environment created by a great poet must be in line with nature, and the environment he writes must be close to the ideal.
The realm is a combination of beautiful scenery and true feelings. There is reality in the ideal, and there is the ideal in the reality. The creation and description of the environment are the result of the blending of subjectivity and objectivity. On the basis of his predecessors, Wang Guowei explored the meaning of artistic conception in many aspects, deeply revealed the opportunities for poetry creation, and established a new standard for commenting on poetry, thereby enriching the Chinese theory of waiting for songs. His contribution should be fully recognized.
In classical Chinese poetry, there are three different ways of blending meaning and context.
First, emotions arise with circumstances. The poet had no conscious feelings and thoughts at first. When he encountered a certain physical environment in his life, he suddenly realized something and his thoughts were filled with thoughts. So he expressed his feelings through the description of the physical environment and achieved the blending of intention and environment. "Wen Xin Diao Long? Observation Chapter" says: "The movement of objects makes the heart shake." It talks about the process from the situation to the intention. There are many examples of this type in classical poetry, such as Wang Changling's "Bouise Resentment":
The young woman in the boudoir knows no worries, and climbs up the stairs in spring makeup. Suddenly I saw the color of willows on the street. I regretted my teaching and lost my son-in-law, looking for the title of marquis.
The young woman in the boudoir turned out to be carefree. She dressed up happily and went up to the green tower to enjoy the spring scenery. The fresh green of the willows on the street suddenly reminded her of her separation from her husband. This lonely life had let down the good times and her own time. She regretted that she should not have let her husband go away. This young man's sorrow is triggered by the willow color on the street, and is intertwined with the willow color on the street. This is the emotion of the characters in the poem. Examples of the poet himself reacting to the situation and achieving a harmonious artistic conception, such as Meng Haoran's "Autumn Climbing Ten Thousand Mountains to Send Zhang Wu": "When we look at each other, we start to climb high, and our hearts fly away with the geese. Worry arises because of dusk, and excitement comes in the clear autumn." "Stay in the Tonglu River and send me an old trip to Guangling"; "I listen to the sorrow of the apes in silence in the mountains, while the Cangjiang River flows rapidly at night. The leaves on both sides of the bank are blown by the phoenix, and the moon shines on a solitary boat."
Sentiments arise according to circumstances, and this sentiment is certainly true. It arises with the situation, but often it is already there, but it is hidden and not very conscious. Once the ears and eyes touch the external environment, they awaken the thoughts in the heart like a wrinkled pool of spring water. Regarding this process, Li Zhe described it in detail:
And those who are truly capable of writing in the world are not as ordinary as they were in the beginning. There are so many things in his chest that he can't do anything about, and there are so many things in his throat that he wants to spit out but dare not spit out. His mouth always has many songs but cannot express them. It has accumulated for a long time and is unstoppable. Once you see a scene, you will be moved by emotion; you will grab other people's wine glasses, burn your own bricks, complain about the injustice in your heart, and feel astonishingly for a thousand years
If there is no accumulation of emotions before touching the scene, there will be no touching. The outburst of emotion after the scene. The so-called laziness that arises with circumstances is still inseparable from daily life experience. The second way of blending public opinion and circumstances is to empathize and enter. The poet contacts the external world with strong subjective feelings, injects his own feelings into it, and expresses it through the description of the world. The objective world also carries the poet's subjective affection. Ge Lifang's "Yunyu Yangqiu" said:
Bamboo does not taste fragrant, but Du Zhimei's poem says: "The rain washes the flowers quietly, and the wind blows the delicate fragrance." Snow does not taste fragrant, and Li Taibai's poem says : "There are thousands of snowflakes on Yaotai, blowing down the fragrance of spring breeze."
The fragrant bamboo and fragrant snow in Li Du's poems are obviously no longer purely objective existences. The poet moved his feelings into them to make them It has a strong subjective color and a strong poetic flavor.
There are many examples of empathy in poetry, such as Li Bai: "The mountain flowers smiled at me, just when I was holding the cup." ("Waiting for the Wine") Du Fu: "I feel the flowers splashing with tears, and I hate to say goodbye. The birds are frightened." ("Spring View") Bai Juyi: "The water flows, the water flows to the ancient crossing of Guazhou, Wushan is a little sad." ("Long Love" Part 1) The physical environment written in these poems is full of emotions. The poet's subjective color infects the objective with the subjective, unifies the objective, and achieves the blend of intention and scene. "The Analects of Confucius? Advanced Chapter" records that Zilu, Zeng Xi, Ran You, and Gongxi Hua Shi were sitting, and Confucius asked them to express their own aspirations. Several other people spoke straightforwardly, but only Zeng Xi's answer was different: "In late spring, the spring clothes are ready, there are five or six crown princes, and six or seven boys; they bathe in Yi, the wind is like the dance director, and they return home singing." He expresses his emotions through the description of the physical environment, empathizes with it, and blends his thoughts with the environment. Although his words are not poetry, they already have a strong poetic flavor.
When empathy enters the country, this environment is just a medium for expressing feelings. Xie Dai's "Siming Poetry Talk" discusses the relationship between scenes:
Scenery is the entertainment of poetry, and emotion is the embryo of poetry, which together form poetry.
Emotion is just the embryo of poetry. To cultivate it into poetry, you must find a medium suitable for it, which is scenery. Poetry is conceived from the embryo of emotion and is expressed through the medium of scenery. Only when the embryo of emotion and the medium of scenery blend and fit together can the artistic conception of the poem be produced. As for which kind of emotions are expressed through which kind of scenery media, different nations have different traditions. Chinese poetry often borrows orchids to show nobility and willows to show farewell, but this is not necessarily the case in foreign countries. The same nation also has different habits in different eras. "Book of Songs." In the poem, stones were used to express wavering: "My heart is so strong that it cannot be changed." ("Beifeng Baizhou") Today, stones are used to express firmness, which has changed.
The third way of integrating the artistic conception and the environment is to consider the feelings of things and to integrate the feelings of things and myself. The emotions mentioned above arise according to the situation and enter the country with emotion. Those emotions are the emotions of poets. Do things have feelings? It should be said that there are some. The differences in the shapes and tones of mountains, rivers, vegetation, sun, moon and stars give people a certain kind of unique impression, as if they themselves have personalities and emotions. Although this comes from people's imagination, it has been recognized for a long time, with a certain degree of objectivity, and the poet! The temporary infusion of emotion is different. We might as well treat them as the inherent character and emotion of the object itself. As Guo Xi of the Song Dynasty said in "Linquan Gaozhi":
The body is the mountains and rivers, and if you take it, the meaning of the mountains and rivers will be seen in Wu. The mountains in spring are as light as a smile, the mountains in summer are green as drops, the mountains in autumn are bright and clear as makeup, and the mountains in winter are miserable and clear as the title.
Ming Shen Ying's "Hua Han" also said:
The mountains are more festive in spring, more like competition in summer, more like illness in the autumn, and more calm in winter.
They pointed out the different temperaments of the Four Seasons Mountains and requested that their different shapes and expressions be painted in order to achieve both form and spirit. Isn’t it the same with writing poetry?
Some poets are good at being considerate of things and integrating things with their own feelings to form the artistic conception of the poem. Tao Yuanming and Du Fu are particularly outstanding in this regard. Tao Yuanming's "The birds are happy to have their support, and I also love my house." ("Reading the Classic of Mountains and Seas") "The wind is far away from me, and the good seedlings also cherish the new." ("Nostalgia for the ancient farmhouses in the first spring of Guimao") Du Fu's " Anhua flies to see off guests, and Fu Yan invites guests to stay." ("Fa Tanzhou") All reached the point of harmony between things and myself. Tao Yuanming's "Drinking" No. 8:
The green pines are in the east garden, and the grasses are in their shape. Ningshuangzhen is different, Zhuoran meets the university. Even the people in the forest don't realize it. It's a wonder that a single tree has many people. Holding the pot to caress the cold kettle, it will appear again when you look into the distance. In the dream of my life, what is the matter?
The green pine is Yuan Ming, and Yuan Ming is the green pine. "The words are conceited, the words are self-pity" (Wen Runeng: "Tao Poetry Review"), the poet and the green pine merge into one. Another example is the second of Du Fu's "Three Quatrains":
The pigeons and geese outside the door will not come, and the eyes will suddenly look at each other at the hour. From now on, I know people's wishes and have to come back a hundred times a day.
The poet is considerate of the cormorant's desire to be close to others but is afraid of others, expresses his closeness to it, and welcomes it to be a frequent guest. The poet and the cormorant reached an understanding, established a friendship, and their feelings blended together.
2. The deepening and development of artistic conception
The deepening and development of artistic conception are important steps in the process of poetry conception. "Wen Fu" once divided the conception into two stages:
At the beginning, everyone watched and listened, thinking about side news, focusing on the eight extremes, and thinking about everything. Its effect is that the eyes of love are longing and fresh, the Yang of objects is clear and mutually advanced, the words of the crowd are poured out, the fragrance of the six arts is washed, the abyss of the sky is filled with tranquility, and the spring is filled with water and submerged.
The first stage of conception is to focus on the mind and pursue the integration of intention and environment.
In the second stage, the artistic conception gradually becomes clearer and clearer, and then the appropriate language is found to express it. What Lu Ji is talking about here is the general conception process. In poetry creation, the formation of artistic conception is not so simple. Sometimes the poet's writing is very fast, and the words are interesting at the drop of a hat, and the artistic conception reaches the point of vividness and clarity all of a sudden. This kind of artistic conception is innocent and natural, which is a divine product in art. The stroke of genius seems easy, but it is not. It cannot be achieved without long-term life accumulation and high artistic cultivation. However, the initial stage of the artistic conception is mostly not clear enough and needs to be further improved. Or, although it is clear and clear, it is shallow or narrow. It needs to be deepened and developed in order to create a new realm on the basis of the original realm. "Human Words" says:
Those who have achieved great things in ancient and modern times must pass through three realms: "Last night, the west wind withered the green trees, and I climbed up to the tall building alone, looking at the end of the world." This first realm also.
"The clothes are getting wider and wider, but I don't regret it anymore. I feel haggard because of the beauty." This is the second state.
"The crowd searched for him thousands of times, and when I turned around, I suddenly saw that man in a dimly lit place." This is the third realm.
What Wang Guowei said about the three realms of National Cheng Kung University and the University of Science can be used to explain the process of poetry conception. In the initial stage of conception, the poet uses artistic association and imagination to search up and down, pursuing the blend of meaning and scene, just like "climbing a tall building alone and looking to the end of the world." After the artistic conception is initially formed, continue to explore, develop, cast and exercise. This is the most difficult step in the conception process. "The belt gets wider and wider, but I don't regret it anymore, and I feel haggard because of the loss of Yi." This is a perfect description of the miserable situation. When the deepening and development of the artistic conception reaches a certain level, the eyes suddenly become clear, and "the land is flat and the houses are solemn", entering a new realm. This is what is said: "People have searched for him hundreds of times, but suddenly looking back, he was in a dimly lit place." The word "suddenly" perfectly illustrates that the completion of artistic conception is an unexpected leap.
The ancients had a saying about refining characters, sentences and meanings. The so-called refining of one's mind refers to the deepening and development of one's artistic conception. And refining characters and sentences is not about refining the meaning. The predecessors said that "refining the characters is not as good as refining the meaning". In fact, there is no one who can practice the characters independently of refining the meaning. Du Fu "will never stop until his words are astonishing" ("Jiang Shang Zhi") "Water is like the sea, a short talk"), "Rewrite the new poems and then chant them again" ("Relieve Boredom"); Wei Zhuang "lying on the Nanshan Mountain to revise the old poems" ("Fanqi"). In the process of refining their words, aren't they also changing their ideas and creating new realms? "Mansou Poems" said:
"The peach blossoms chase the poplars, and the white horses fly on Huangdao." Li Shang Laotian said: "I met Xu Shichuan and said that a scholar-bureaucrat had Lao Du's ink in his house. Chu Yun said: "Peach Blossoms Desire to Win Yang Hua Yu", I changed the three characters with light ink, which shows that ancient people never tire of changing their characters. Otherwise, why would there be such a saying as "Tiaoxi Yuyincong Hua"? Volume 8)
These two lines of poems are found in "Qujiang Duijiu", which was written by Du Fu when he was working as a collector in Chang'an in the first year of Qianyuan. After the "Zhongxing", Du Fu was full of hope for Suzong, but he still couldn't make a difference. He was neither disdainful of the secular world nor willing to be worldly, and his mood was very contradictory. He sat at the head of the river for a long time, watching the flowers and birds flying, and felt embarrassingly lonely and bored. This poem was written in this mood. The original "Peach Blossom Desires and Yang Huayu" is biased towards imagination and has a lively artistic conception, which is inconsistent with the poet's mood at this time and here. It was changed to "Peach Blossoms Chasing the Falling Yang Blossoms", which is more dry and realistic, and the artistic conception is quiet, which just reflects the boredom of sitting for a long time. Although only three words have been changed, the artistic conception is completely different. Another Tathagata, Chen Shichong's "Suiyin Manlu", Volume 4:
"There were imperial edicts written in the White Jade Hall, and recent poems in the Crystal Palace", Han Zicang Yi said "the hall is deep" and "the palace is cold". ...An ancient poem goes: "When spring comes back, all you need to do is wear a tea mushroom." The character's element and quality are easy to change, from "dai" to "geng", all of which have the same character.
"Tangzhong" and "Gongli" have a shallow and close meaning; change them to "Tangshen" and "Gongceng", which have a far-reaching meaning. "'It takes a lot of effort to wear a tea flower, but the artistic conception is too superficial. "Changing a tea mushroom" reflects the change of time sequence from the replacement of wearing flowers, and the artistic conception is much deeper. "Hanting Poetry" by Gu Sili of the Qing Dynasty:
Zhang Juxuan's poem: "On a half-pole of flowing water, it rains at night. Where can spring come from a single tree with flat plum blossoms?" Yuan Yishan said: "If something is good, it will be good, but there will be trouble. Now that there is only one tree, there will be nothing." Where', it's better to change 'a tree' to 'a few o'clock', and it will feel flying."
"A tree with early plum blossoms" fixedly refers to one place, which seems dull; "at a few o'clock with early plum blossoms", Focusing on the vast space, and the quantity is not limited, so the artistic conception is flying.
The deepening and development of artistic conception must be moderate. If the processing is insufficient, it will be revealed, if it is too processed, it will be refined, and if it is too much, it will be a mistake.
The highest state is to deepen and develop without leaving any trace, to explain the profound things in simple terms, and to return to simplicity, such as Li Bai's "Midnight Wu Song":
There is a moon in Chang'an, and thousands of households are banging loudly. The autumn wind never blows away, but there is always love between the two. When the barbarians are defeated, a good man will stop his expedition.
The language of this poem cannot be more simple and straightforward, but the artistic conception is extremely deep and broad. The first two sentences are extraordinary. On a moonlit background, the sound of pounding clothes can be heard from every house in Chang'an City. The rapid and desolate sound spreads such a strong autumn feeling, not to mention that these cold clothes are prepared to be given to the guards. The cold voices and cold stands of the relatives at the border convey my longing for the border. The two sentences "Autumn Wind" connect Chang'an and Yuguan together through the autumn wind, and the artistic conception is broader. Wen Zisheng in the Northern Dynasty wrote a poem "Taking Farm", which is similar in concept to this poem: "The Mid-Autumn Night is long in Chang'an City, and the beauty's brocade stones are pounded and flowed yellow. The incense is made of patterns and anvils to know the near and far, how desolate it is to send the sound to send the sound. The long river on the Chinese Valentine's Day is rotten, The moonlight is bright in the Mid-Autumn Festival. The wild geese are waiting for each other in the arrangement, and the mandarin ducks are watching the wolf from the tower. "The artistic conception of this poem has also been deepened and developed, but it is too laborious and too elaborate, making it unattractive. Unlike Li Bai's poem, which is natural and simple, it can penetrate the reader's heart at once.
The deepening and development of artistic conception is the process of typification of artistic conception. The initial state may be the strongest impression, but it is not necessarily the most essential. The initial meaning may be the most interesting, but not necessarily the most profound. In the process of deepening and developing the artistic conception, we should omit the accidental and superficial things and emphasize the essential and profound things, and finally we can cast it into a typical artistic conception. The degree of typification determines the depth and quality of the artistic conception. Xu Yinfang is here in the Qing Dynasty. Discussing poems and postscripts with Li Sheng. The four poems of Wang Meng, Wei and Liu of Zhonglun said: "People only see it as clear and delicate, but they don't know that it is washed with pottery and then becomes clear, and after being smelted several times, it becomes refined." The complicated ones can be transformed into simplicity, the dumb ones can be transformed into magnesium and aluminum, and the exposed ones can be transformed into fusion. This is the power of smelting. "It can be seen that the deepening and development of artistic conception requires hard work and is not easy. It can be successful.
3 Personalization of artistic conception
Because the artistic conception contains the poet’s subjective component, the artistic conception of a good poem is always personalized. The poet's unique perspective of observing things, unique taste and character constitute the personality of the artistic conception. The chrysanthemum in Tao Yuanming's works is simply the incarnation of the poet himself, so that when he mentions Tao, he thinks of chrysanthemum, and when he mentions chrysanthemum, he thinks of Tao. Tao and chrysanthemum have become one. The moon in Li Bai's works and the plum blossoms in Lu You's works are all the same. Li Bai said: "It's a good moon on the mountain street" ("Climbing the Yueyang Tower with Xia Twelve"), "Toast a glass to invite the bright moon" ("Drinking Alone under the Moon"), "Let's talk about the moonlight in Dongting" "Accompanying the clan uncle to visit Dongting" Second), what a close relationship he has with the moon! Isn’t that bright moon the poet’s self-image? Lu You wrote many poems about plum blossoms in his life. Self-portrait. "Plum Blossom Quatrains": "I heard that the plum blossoms split the morning wind, and the snow drifted all over the mountains. How can one transform into hundreds of billions, one tree and one sea of ??flowers, one blooming man? "This snow-white plum blossom also reflects Lu You's own arrogance and purity. Another example is Xin Qiji's "Bodhisattva Barbarian? Jinling Appreciation is a tribute to Prime Minister Ye": "The Qingshan wants to be loved by the master"; Qin Shaoyou's "Magpie Bridge Immortal": "When the golden wind and jade dew meet, they win over countless people in the world", "If the two love lasts for a long time, how can they be together day and night"; Gong Zizhen's "Miscellaneous Poems of Ji Hai": "Falling red is not a heartless thing, it turns into spring mud "More Protective Flowers", these artistic conceptions are so full of personality; just as ancient Chinese paintings pay attention to freehand brushwork and convey the spirit, ancient Chinese poetry does not pursue realistic imitation of objective objects, but strives to create and express artistic conceptions with individual characteristics. This is an important artistic rule of Chinese classical poetry.
There is an issue that cannot be ignored here, which is what Wang Guowei calls "the realm of self" and "the realm of no-self". He said:
There is a state of being with me, and there is a state of being without me. "It's worth noting that the solitary pavilion is closed in the cold spring, and the setting sun is setting in the sound of cuckoos." "There is my realm." I am picking chrysanthemums under the eastern fence, and I can see Nanshan leisurely. "The cold wave rises in great force, and the white horse descends leisurely." "The state of selflessness. In the state of self, I observe things with me, and I put things in my color. In the state of selflessness, I observe things with things. So I don't know who is me and what is the thing.
This statement is very subtle, but it goes against the general experience of creation and appreciation. Mr. Zhu Guangqian thinks that the term he uses seems to be open to discussion. realm). His example of ‘the state of no-self’… is actually the ‘state of existence of self’.
Rather than talking about 'the realm of self' and 'the realm of no-self', it seems better to say 'the realm of transcendent things' and 'the realm of the same thing', because strictly speaking, poetry must have a self in any realm. It is a reflection of one's own personality, taste and experience. "("Poetry") Leaving aside the issue of nouns, Mr. Zhu pointed out that there must be a self in any realm. This is very insightful. In fact, in real works of art, the "state without self" does not exist. "There is. The state of self certainly contains the personality of the poet; "the state of selflessness is not without the poet's subjective taste, but the poet has integrated into the physical environment and become a part of the physical environment, temporarily forgetting himself. About this This state, to borrow a sentence from Liu Zongyuan's "Shide Xishan Banquet Travel Notes", is called "the mind is concentrated and the mind is in harmony with all things." The words can also illustrate the formation of this state:
A certain person has been observing the grass and insects in a cage since he was a child. He would not tire of it day and night, but he was afraid that it would not be completed, so he continued to observe it in the grass. When he started to write, he didn’t know that I was a grass insect. This is no different from the creation of living things.
"Ci Quan" says:
The history of the barnyard is called Weigan's painting of horses. When people enter his studio, they will see the body in the shape of a horse. The reason is that the poems must be written in the same way. For example, Shi Bangqing's poem "Yong Yan" shows that both form and spirit are complete.
It can be seen that real artists create in the intoxication of the blending of things and themselves. How can such a creative artistic conception be without self, as cited by Wang Guowei. An example of the "selfless state" can be found in Tao Yuanming's poem "Drinking": I am picking chrysanthemums under the eastern fence, leisurely seeing the beautiful mountains and fields, and the birds flying back and forth. There is a true meaning in this, but I have forgotten to say it. The poet was in a very calm mood at the beginning of picking chrysanthemums. He occasionally raised his head and saw the sunset weather of Nanshan Mountain, and realized the true meaning. At this time, Nanshan Guiwu seemed to be Tao Yuanming, and Tao Yuanming seemed to have entered Nanshan and merged with Nanshan. Do you think this is selflessness? In fact, there is a me, but I have become one with the things. Another example of selflessness cited by Wang Guowei is found in Yuan Haowen. "Narrative Leaving Farewell": "The cold waves are rising, and the white birds are leisurely descending. People are anxious to return home, and things are leisurely." The poet contrasts the haste of human affairs with the leisurelyness of the white birds in the cold waves. "The two lines of "Han Bo" express the poet's yearning. He hopes that he can also turn into Han Bo and a white horse and blend into the picture. This artistic conception also contains the poet's own personality.
Since the artistic conception is personalized , then it must be closely related to the style. Most of the ancients' comments on the style of poetry focused on the artistic conception:
When the thought of losing poetry first arises, the context is high. The first is to raise the body to be high; if the environment is eccentric, then the body is to be relaxed.
His so-called style refers to style, and Gao and Yi are the two most highly regarded among the nineteen styles he listed. He believes that the difference in styles is due to the different contexts in which the poems were first thought, that is, the differences in artistic conception. This is very insightful, and "Wen Xin Diao Long? Ti Xing" summarizes various styles into eight works. :
One day is elegant, the other day is profound, the third day is concise, the fourth day is revealing, the fifth day is complex, the sixth day is magnificent, the seventh day is novel, and the eighth day is light corridor.
Among them, simplicity, explicitness, and complexity focus on the use of language. The other five are combined with literary thoughts. They are not only five different styles, but also can be regarded as five different realms. Sikong Tu's "Poetry." 》There are twenty-four categories, such as vigorous and dilute. From his own explanation, these twenty-four categories are not only differences in style, but also differences in artistic conception.
The artistic conception not only contains the poet's subjective thoughts. , emotions and personality, and these are all reflections of social existence, then artistic conception will inevitably reflect certain social content in a tortuous way. When Wang Guowei discusses artistic conception, he cannot see its social content, so he cannot correctly judge the level of artistic conception. Comment. He believes that the more a poet is separated from society, the more he can maintain his innocent heart, and the better he can write good poems. He said:
An objective poet must read more about the world. The more deeply he understands the world, the better his materials will be. Rich, the more varied, the author of "Water Margin" and "Dream of Red Mansions" is like this. A subjective poet does not need to know much about the world. The less he knows about the world, the truer his temperament.
In fact, no matter " It is impossible for a poet who is "objective" or "subjective" to write excellent works without rich life experience. Literary creation must of course come from true feelings, but this temperament is cultivated in social practice and is not innate. As for The authenticity of temperament depends on the poet's writing attitude. If a poet is loyal to life, art, and readers, he will have a true temperament.
Wang Guowei also said:
The poet is a poet who does not lose his innocent heart. Therefore, being born in a deep palace and growing stronger than a woman's hands are the shortcomings of the later master as a ruler, which is also the strength of the poet.
If Empress Li had no long-term experience in court life, he would not be able to write works that reflected court life; but precisely because he only had experience in court life and was separated from the broad social life, his The subject matter realm of Ci is relatively narrow. How can this be said to be the strength of the poet?
The innovation of the four artistic conceptions
Society continues to develop, and people's thoughts and feelings are constantly changing, so the artistic conception of poetry will never be replaced by the previous ones. People write everything. However, poets often cling to old traditions and follow the old paths of their predecessors, and dare not start from the changed real life and boldly create new artistic conceptions. Without new artistic conception, poetry loses its life, like a piece of dead wood that can no longer arouse people's interest. The crux of the failure of the anti-archaism school in the history of poetry lies in this. In the Ming Dynasty, Li Mengyang advocated that "literature must be based on the Qin and Han Dynasties, and poetry must be based on the prosperous Tang Dynasty", which became the program of the ancientism of the seven scholars before and after. Although this slogan has a positive meaning in opposing the Taige style, like Li Mengyang, who "deliberately follows the ancient model, casts the shape (mold), and only adheres to the size" and imitates the ancients step by step, it destroys art in another aspect. Yuan Mei's "Reply to Shen Dazongbo's Poetry Book" criticized archaism and said:
It is sometimes said that poetry is clumsy but not ancient. ... Not all people in ancient times were skilled, but everyone today is clumsy. ...As for temperament and temperament, everyone has me, and we should not imitate the ancients or be restrained by fear of the ancients.
When writing poetry, we should start from our own temperament and experience, start from our true feelings, and create our own artistic conception vividly, instead of letting the ancients constrain ourselves. Regarding this point, he said it more cheerfully in "Poetry Book with Hong Zhicun":
In the past, people in the Xiao Dynasty liked to learn from Hua Ziyu, but they were too close, so they became farther away. Dong Wenmin wrote a postscript to Zhang Jizhi, saying that the best thing about it is not being able to meet the ancients, but being able to separate from them. The way of poetry and prose is not the same. He studied Du the year before last and resumed studying Han this year. I mean, with Hongzi's mind and learning ability, why not write the poems of Hongzi, but the poems of Hanzi and Duzi? People still read the poems of Han and Du, but they will not read poems similar to those of Han and Du. Even if Han and Du were born today, they would definitely be in a different realm, and they would never be willing to write the poems of Han and She in the past.
Times have changed, the environment has changed, and the artistic conception of poetry has also adapted to cultural innovation. Du Fu is an expert in innovation. He was in the turbulent environment before and after the Anshi Rebellion, and he created his own unique new artistic conception with his true feelings and true feelings. He is best at depicting rivers and exaggerating the autumn colors, in which he pours out his deep concern for the country and the people. The melancholy and desolate artistic conception in the eight poems of "Autumn Rise" is indeed his original creation. Since Du Fu was an innovative poet, one must first learn from Du Fu's innovations rather than imitate his artistic conception. If Du Fu were born in later generations, he would definitely create a new realm and refuse to repeat the old tunes of the past.
Creating new artistic conception requires artistic courage. Xie Zhen's "Four Poems." Said: "Poetry should have a heroic atmosphere: if people don't change their ways, I will follow them; if people don't want to do it, I will do it. A fierce ghost cannot take away his integrity, and a sharp sword cannot break his strength." Ye Xiehua's "Original Poetry? Internal Chapter" "In the book, "Anti-archaism" is targeted, and poetry is boldly advocated, which is the most enlightening:
The ancients said: "I don't see the ancients if I don't, and the ancients don't see me if I don't." It is also said: "If you don't pretend, there will be no two kings." , but there is no great way to hate two or three." Si Yante talks about calligraphy. And they claim to be so. It can be deduced by waiting for it. ...A wise man in the past once said: Success comes from courage. If you don’t have the guts to write about something that will last forever, how can it last forever? That’s why I say: If you don’t have a face, your writing will shrink. If you are brave enough, how can you stretch your courage?
This passage still has the power to inspire people when I read it today. The new era requires new artistic conceptions and can also produce new artistic conceptions. Compared with the old society today, social systems, lifestyles, customs and habits have all undergone tremendous changes, and nature has also been transformed. It is a pity that our poetry has not created more unforgettable new artistic conceptions that are comparable to those of the new era. Ye Dang talks about the four words talent, courage, knowledge and strength in poetry. Our poets were born in today's era of prosperous science, and their analytical knowledge is hundreds of times superior to that of the ancients. Their analytical talents and powers are not necessarily inferior to those of the ancients. What is missing is probably the word courage. Only by getting rid of the fetters, boldly exploring, and boldly moving forward can we create a new artistic conception and emerge the humiliation of the new era