The Wei, Jin and Six Dynasties were the most chaotic and socially painful times in China, but they were extremely free, liberated, intelligent and enthusiastic in the spiritual history. Therefore, they are also the most artistic era. The words of Wang Xizhi and his son, the paintings of Gu Kaizhi and Lu Tanwei, the sculptures of Dai Kui and Dai Yong, and the Guangling San of Ji Kang.
Because of too long troubled times, social psychology and emotions began to turn to internalization, thinking about people themselves and looking at the relationship between people and the world from the perspective of self. The study of literary history is not the study of treating fools, but the thoughts and literature and art that care for people, individuals and life have emerged, so it is the consciousness of literature and history.
Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties were "troubled times" in the history of China. It profoundly influenced the mentality and mental outlook of the literati, and also influenced the theme, theme and tone of the whole literary creation. Due to the large number of deaths caused by the war, sensitive literati generally feel the fragility of human life, the unpredictability of fate, the impermanence of life, and the helplessness of individual life in the face of the changes of the times. Therefore, we have seen some concentrated literary themes in the literature of Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, such as the theme of life and death, the theme of wandering immortals and the theme of seclusion. In troubled times, the life style of literati is characterized by generous elegy, indulgence in life, enjoyment of time and pursuit of lewdness, while the literary style is characterized by profundity, obscure twists and turns, or colorful, all of which are related to the specific background of the times. This period in the field of philosophical thought is characterized by active thinking and various ideological trends. In short, it can be summarized as the decline of Confucianism, the rise of metaphysics and the widespread spread of Buddhism and Taoism. As an official ideology, Confucianism has been in a dominant position since the beginning of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, and the Yellow Scarf Uprising at the end of the Han Dynasty shook the exclusive position of Confucianism in the Han Dynasty for hundreds of years. Cao Cao advocated the rule of law, appointed people on their merits, and selected people who were "heartless and unfilial, but had the skill of using troops in the Han Dynasty" (Escape Order), which accelerated the decline of Confucianism. Once the status of Confucianism was broken and people's thoughts were liberated from the shackles, an active situation appeared in the ideological circle, and various "heretical" ideas became popular.
During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the decline of centralized politics in Han Dynasty, the loosening of traditional Confucian culture and Confucian classics, long-term stable family status, fragmented social structure and chaotic social reality made some special classes, such as those with power, wealth and culture, naturally begin to explore and think about the value of life and the ontology of life, which is called "human awakening". Although this "human awakening" is very different in different periods and groups, it is a significant historical progress in any case.
Before this era-Han dynasty-it was too simple in art and mainly Confucianism in thought; This era-after the Tang Dynasty-was too mature in art and dominated by Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism in thought. Only these hundreds of years have been a great liberation in spirit and a great freedom in personality. The beauty and ugliness, nobility and cruelty, holiness and devil in people's hearts have also reached the extreme. This is also the second philosophical era after China, Zhou and Qin philosophers and some philosophical geniuses-
This is a period of China people's life history dotted with the most tragedies and full of romantic fate. The Eight Kings Rebellion, the Five Dynasties Rebellion and the split of the Northern and Southern Dynasties led to the great disintegration of social order, the total collapse of the old ethics, the freedom of ideological belief and the upsurge of artistic creativity, which reminded us of the "Renaissance" in Western Europe in the16th century. This is an era of intense, contradictory, enthusiastic and colorful life.
However, the beauty of western Renaissance art (architecture, painting and sculpture) is gloomy, luxurious and magnificent. Wei Jin people tend to be simple, mysterious and detached, and Jin people's calligraphy is the most concrete manifestation of this beauty.
The beauty of Jin people is the highest peak of the whole era. The secretary of Shi Shuo Xin Yu is very vivid, and his mental outlook, personality of several people, color and air of the times can be drawn with simple pen and ink. The simplicity of writing is especially vivid. Born in the late Jin Dynasty, Liu Ye was a human being. At that time, the charm of Jin people still existed, and the content described, at least in spiritual transmission, was not far from the facts (Tang Xiujin's book was also based on this).
To study the aesthetic feeling and artistic spirit of China people, Shi Shuo Xin Yu contains many important materials and inspirations, which can't be ignored. This paper roughly quotes some personal reading notes for readers' reference, and the detailed system will be developed in the future.
(1) The naturalism and individualism of Wei and Jin Dynasties freed themselves from the bondage of etiquette and law under the rule of Confucianism in the Han Dynasty, which was first manifested in Cao Cao's super-moral standards of employing people in politics. Most ordinary intellectuals directly appreciate the beauty of personality and respect the value of personality beyond etiquette. Huan Wen asked Yin Hao, "What are you like me?" Yin replied, "It's been a long time since you dealt with me. I'd rather be me! " The discovery and affirmation of this kind of self-worth has existed in the west since the Renaissance, and the sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth articles of Shi Shuo Xin Yu all appreciate and describe "the beauty of personality", while aesthetic evaluation. From the appreciation of personality beauty. "A gentleman is better than jade", China people's love for personality beauty originated very early, and the style of tasting algae prevailed in the late Han Dynasty. It reached its peak in the era of Shi Shuo Xin Yu (Shi Shuo contained "Wen Tai is really a second-rate figure. Celebrities say that the first person will be exhausted and the temperature will often be eclipsed. "