Wang Xizhi's "Preface to the Orchid Pavilion Collection" vividly describes the unprecedented grand occasion of a group of literati and poets visiting Orchid Pavilion for a banquet and composing poems on the third day of March in the ninth year of Yonghe in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. It expresses the poet's deep feelings about the universe and life. The three paragraphs of the full text can be divided into two parts according to the context of emotional changes. The first paragraph describes the scene and reproduces the happy scene, which is the first part; the second and third paragraphs are lyrical discussions and expresses the sorrow of life, which is the second part. The former expresses "joy" concisely, while the latter expresses "sadness" deeply. Let’s briefly analyze this in conjunction with the text.
(1) The description of "music" is concise. The first part describes the people and scenery, the right time and place, simple words, rich meaning, multiple points of view, focusing on one "east". A specific analysis shows that there are five kinds of "joy": there are many famous people gathering in Lanting Pavilion, which is a happy place. This time, there was a grand gathering of 42 people. Most of the attendees were social sages, celebrities and lay people. There were also many people from the famous Wang family. As a banquet gathering, meeting friends with literature and falling in love with wine, it is not a competition for official positions to identify the poor and the rich, so the introduction of the characters in the article only has eight words: "When all the virtuous people come together, the young and the old gather together." It abandons the introduction of official positions, A vulgar way of writing status. This also shows Wang Xizhi's noble and elegant feelings.
Surrounded by mountains and rivers, the realm is quiet and tranquil, which is the second pleasure. The high mountains and ridges are majestic; the lush bamboos are deep and quiet; the clear streams are clean and clear; the flowing water is fast and the flowers are splashing. These scenery are pure and clear, crystal clear, full of vitality and infinite vitality. Every line of the words reveals the poet's comfort in wandering in the mountains and rivers. What is intriguing is that in the spring of March, grass grows in the south of the Yangtze River, there are mixed peanut trees, flocks of orioles fly around, colorful purples and reds, and flowers blooming like brocade, but there is no trace of it in the text, replaced by mountains, water, bamboo, forest, sky, and wind, and it is written When writing about bamboo in the forest, we only talk about its "luxuriance" and "cultivation", while abandoning its green and verdant nature, trying our best to create a simple and elegant style. Such landscapes can cultivate an indifferent and peaceful mind. The elegance of the writing style is a reflection of the author's personality and temperament. Bamboo is straight in the middle and straight on the outside. It has neither branches nor vines. It is strong and straight, rising steadily. It is not afraid of spring damage, not afraid of autumn cold, and does not suffer from the vulgarity. It has always been a portrayal of the noble character and integrity of literati. Many ancient people praised it. Tang Qiu wrote in "Bamboo in the Courtyard": "The moon cages the green leaves bearing the dew in autumn, and the wind sweeps away the dense smoke on the branches. I know that the frost and snow will never change, and the cold color will always stay in front of the court." Zheng Banqiao's "Bamboo and Stone" praised bamboo like this: "I insist that the green mountains will never change." Relax, the roots are still in the broken rock. They are still strong despite the winds from the east, west and north. "Su Dongpo also said: "It is better to eat without meat than to live without bamboo." Wang Xizhi did not mention the myriad things. The inclusion of Maolin Xiuzhu in the article actually hints at the author's quiet, noble, free and easy personality.
Drinking wine, composing poems, and talking about the secret love are the three pleasures. The meandering water flows through the wine glass, singing and chanting, expressing emotions and ambitions freely. This kind of group banquet is different from the luxurious style of drunkenness, light pouring and singing. It is more characterized by the literati entertaining the landscape, bohemian behavior, and even the deep and remote romance in the forest. On this occasion, people are no longer bound by the constraints and norms of traditional etiquette, let alone being so fearful in the face of strict hierarchical order. Poets can reveal their true selves without any scruples. Therefore, "although it is not as prosperous as silk and bamboo orchestras", "one drink and one chant are enough to express the secret love".
The sky is clear and the air is clear, the wind is gentle and the sun is warm, which is the four joys. The sky is high and crisp, the sky is clear, the breeze is blowing, and the warmth is warm. The sky is clear and the sky is beautiful, and you can see thousands of miles away. The love fills the sky and the earth, and you will think about it for thousands of years. This joy and comfort of blending into heaven and earth cannot be understood by those who have not experienced it. Looking up and looking down, wandering your eyes and thinking, it is the five joys. Sometimes when I climb high and look far away, I feel that the sky is vast and boundless; sometimes when I look down at the mountains and rivers, I see everything and everything and everything is full of vitality. The poets wandered around the mountains and forests as they pleased, seeing the beautiful scenery and hearing the beautiful sounds. They felt refreshed, relaxed and happy, and "believed and happy". From the above analysis, it is easy to see that Wang Xizhi used concise writing to write about harmony, good times, beautiful scenery, enjoyment, and joy, all five kinds of happiness. In its simplicity, it reflects the poet's quiet and elegant feelings.
(2) Express "sadness" deeply. The second part of the article laments the sorrow of life and death in the short life. It seems to change from joy to sorrow, which is a bit abrupt, but the author explains it smoothly and logically. From the joy of the banquet at Orchid Pavilion, the poet infers the situation of getting along with friends all over the world: gathering in a quiet room, meeting each other candidly, and talking; active and traveling in the mountains and forests, free and unrestrained. No matter how different the choices are, as long as you are in harmony with each other and "enjoy what you encounter", you will be satisfied and enjoy yourself, unaware of the passage of time and the advent of aging.
However, there is no eternal feast in the world. "When you are tired of it", there will be short and long separations, and emotions change with the situation. "With emotion, you will naturally be extremely happy and sad. Sad that life is impermanent and joy is short-lived. From this, we think of the short life and the grand event. It is difficult to face the end of life and death, which is even more heartbreaking. From the sages in Lanting to the people in the world, from the separation of life to the separation of death, from the special to the ordinary, the scope of grief has greatly expanded.
Not only that. , the author goes deeper, looking back from the present to the past, the ancients have always lamented life and death, and then from the present to the future, "The future will look at the present as the present looks at the past." People in the future will also lament life and death. The feeling of life and death has pervaded the entire human society in ancient and modern times. "Life and death are equally important", and it is extremely profound.
This kind of sentimentality is a kind of philosophical thinking of the ultimate destiny of mankind, and there are positive factors in it. If one could really ignore life and death, do nothing, and escape from the world, where would there be sadness? The sadness contains the persistence and pursuit of life. The author did not agree with the scholar-official class at that time that "one death and one life are the same." He has nihilistic thinking and a metaphysical style of "pure work and practical results". On the one hand, he shows a helpless melancholy towards the impermanence of life. On the other hand, he is partial to a society where scholar-bureaucrats are content to enjoy themselves and not make progress. The atmosphere is extremely dissatisfied. His heart is actually full of contradictions and pain. Judging from Wang Xizhi's family influence and his life experience, his life is more about aggressiveness, persistent pursuit, and more about creating value and dedication. Society. Denying Zhuangzi's view of life and death and the emptiness of life actually implicitly expresses Wang Xizhi's outlook on life of being practical and making a difference.
To sum up, "The Preface to the Lanting Collection" states that " "Happiness" and "sadness" are each in their own way, each has its own advantages, complements each other, and is integrated. "Happiness" expresses the interest of life and free individuality, while sighing "sadness" explores the destiny of life and the way of the universe. "Happiness" is To sing the joy of life and to sigh "sorrow" is to solemnly explain the meaning of "happy". The purpose of describing "joy" is to elicit "sadness", and to contrast "sorrow" and sigh deeply. "Sadness" is the inevitable development of "joy" and is the focus of the whole article. Sadness and joy are interdependent, implicit and alert to the world.