The Lanting Calligraphy Museum is located in the Lanting Scenic Area of ??Shaoxing. The displays inside introduce the creation process of the Lanting Collection and Preface, as well as its influence on later generations. After watching it, I was quite impressed. When I came back, I looked for the "Preface to the Lanting Collection" and read it carefully. Although the "Preface to the Lanting Collection" was spread in the world mainly because of its calligraphy value as "the best running script in the world", it was vigorously promoted by Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, which made people The minister's copying also shows that the values ????and outlook on life expressed in this preface are ones that Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty admired or was willing to educate the people.
The original text of "Lanting Collection Preface" is shown in the picture below (), and the excerpt of Shenlong's part is shown below.
"The Preface to the Lanting Collection" has become a compulsory content for high school Chinese in the People's Education Press. It didn’t exist when I was in school. So find it and study it. You can easily find the annotations and translations online. Basically, the textbooks shall prevail, so I won’t go into details.
After reading these notes and explanations, I feel that there are two points worthy of discussion. One is the translation of "cannot be expressed in the heart" in the fourth paragraph, which is generally translated as "cannot be understood in the heart". I feel It's very illogical. I checked online and found that this explanation of "cannot be expressed in words" is indeed controversial. Because the first half of the sentence already said that I felt very much the same as the ancients, and also sighed very much, but the second half of the sentence also said that I didn't understand it, which was inconsistent. The reliable explanation I found online is: "Can't let go."
The second point worth discussing is that the translation of "people get along with each other" at the beginning of the third paragraph is "people get along with each other". This translation feels completely inconsistent with the second paragraph. The second paragraph is saying that everyone's happiness may be different, and people may like the new and dislike the old. It does not involve getting along with others at all. And the meaning of this sentence is that life is short and will pass soon. There is no inevitable connection between people getting along with each other and this. But as for the author's original intention, I haven't found a seemingly reasonable translation online yet. I'll leave it for future research.
Another thing that needs to be emphasized is the last sentence of the third paragraph, "Isn't it painful?" This sentence is actually the starting point of the whole text. It is not emphasized in the translation or appreciation explanation. Why do I think this Why is the sentence so important? Because the third paragraph is the main logical foundation of the whole article, and the beginning of the third paragraph talks about the differences in life, the differences in happiness, and the vagaries of happiness, and then reminds that life will eventually end and disappear, but what about the eggs? What conclusion is drawn? What conclusion can be drawn to the fourth paragraph of "One death and life is an illusion, Qi Peng's death is an illusion"? According to other people's logic, after observing the impermanence of happiness, one should fall into the conclusion of nihilism, because everyone's happiness is different, and a person's happiness will also change. What he liked at first will no longer like it. And with such changes, life will pass and eventually be destroyed, so nihilism has a foothold: Look, after all this tossing and turning, it’s not all death. Death early and late is death. To die late is to toss a few more times, to be happy with the new and get tired of the old a few times. In addition to opportunities for nihilism, secular religions that sell salvation after death also have a market: follow me, there is a way out after death. But Wang Xizhi did not agree with these inferences. He used "Isn't it painful?" and shouted: It's too painful! There is no transcendence from the pain itself, and it is completely immersed in the pain. It is this courage and determination to stand in pain without seeking relief that keeps him away from the trap of nihilism and the temptation of heaven and pure land! Life is what it is, happiness and pain are so real and so profound! "Isn't it painful" forms a sharp contrast with "It's a joy to believe" in the second paragraph. Only by fully accepting happiness and the disappearance of joy can the conclusion of the fourth paragraph be logical. So I think this "Wouldn't it be painful!" is the focus of the whole article. There is a great meaning hidden in the small words.
Looking at the full text, the first two paragraphs mainly record this elegant gathering with meandering water drinking wine, drinking wine and chanting, and the real happiness that the clear sky and clear weather brought to people at that time. The last two paragraphs conducted in-depth observations and reflections on happiness and life and death in life, but they did not lead to the conclusion of nihilism. The fourth paragraph criticized the nonsense of nihilism and affirmed the value of happiness. The value of beauty also affirms the value of life.
Attached are some photos from our visit to Orchid Pavilion
This part of the preface to Orchid Pavilion is taken from the Dragon. The following pictures are all from the Internet