The name of Li Sao was interpreted by Sima Qian as "sadness still exists", and Ban Gu of Han Dynasty also said in the preface of Li Sao: "sadness still exists; Sao, worry also. I know that I have been worried as a speech. " This is the explanation that Han people got from the original meaning of the text. The poem describes the poet's "troubles" and repeatedly expresses his deep troubles, so this lyric poem contains many narrative elements. This poem can almost be regarded as the poet's "autobiography", which twists and turns to write the poet's thoughts and actions for most of his life.
This poem can be divided into eight parts. The first part describes his family background, birth and his childhood ambition; The second part describes his political experience; The third part describes his feelings after persecution, which shows that he sticks to his ideal until death do us part; In the fourth part, when a woman told him that he didn't need to "study hard", he made a speech to the legendary ancient emperor Zhong Hua, telling his political ideal positively. In the fifth part, he wrote that he was depressed and had no choice but to fantasize that he would find someone who understood him when he went to heaven and earth. The sixth part describes his ambivalence; He asked about the spiritual atmosphere and witchcraft; Hoping for advice, Lingqi advised him to leave Chu, and Hsien Wu advised him to stay and make plans, but looking around the political situation in Chu, he was disappointed. The seventh part writes that he fantasizes about leaving Chu for a long trip, but in the end he is reluctant to part; The eighth part is Essays, which means to die for his ideal.
Li Sao shows the poet's yearning for the motherland and his love for the people. Qu Yuan is a great patriotic poet with great ambitions. He wanted to refresh politics and save the state of Chu from peril: "Only party member steals pleasure, and the road is dangerous. Afraid of the fall of the imperial court, I am willing to rise up and be the pioneer of the king of Chu: "gallop on horseback, come on, I'll go first!" "
His aim is not only to save Chu from peril, but also to make it strong, so as to realize the unification of China. Reunification of China was the wish of the people at that time and the ideal of visionary figures. In Li Sao, Qu Yuan often mentioned Yao, Shun, Yu, Tang and others, just to follow their example. At that time, Confucianism proposed that these figures should be idealized, hoping that the rulers would unify China like these ideal figures. Qu Yuan's thought was the highest expression of patriotism at that time. He not only wanted his motherland to become a powerful country, but also wanted his motherland to complete the great historical mission at that time.
Li Sao also shows the poet's spirit of persisting in ideals, hating darkness and taking evil as his enemy. The poet's ideal could not be realized under the resistance of the decadent Chu ruling group, and he angrily rebuked the Chu ruling group; Also describes his own feelings and Geng Jie's ambition:
That's not what I'm worried about.
Old Ran Ran came, and he was afraid that his name would not be established.
Drinking Mulan in the morning reveals water, and eating autumn chrysanthemum in the evening reveals British autumn.
With more love and trust, you can practice what you want, and it won't hurt when you grow up!
Blow roots and tie knots; The stone falling through Ficus pumila;
To change the bacteria, Gui took the thread and asked Hu Sheng for it.
I'm not asking the secular to obey my Buddhism.
Although I am not good at this, I would like to be the legacy of Peng Xian.
……
The poet wrote that he drank the dew falling from the magnolia in the morning and ate the first flowers of the autumn chrysanthemum at night; Wearing fragrant flowers such as Ficus pumila, Jingui and Hu Sheng is a metaphor for a person's nobility. Compared with the greed, jealousy, rashness and pursuit of those ruling groups, it sets off the poet's contempt for those ugly souls. Then, after reprimanding the ruling clique for "spreading rumors" and "breaking the rules and correcting mistakes", the poet wrote down his own intransigence: "The raptor is not in the group, but in the past."
The brilliance of thought in Qu Yuan's works is shown in this way: he hates decadent ruling groups very much, and hates them to protect his beautiful thoughts. Because of this, the deeper the hatred. He not only exposed and castigated the decadent ruling clique, but also quoted his own beautiful ideal when he exposed and castigated it, showing the ugliness of the exposed and the severity of the castigated.
The whole work has a strong romantic color, and in the second half, this color is even stronger. The poet wrote his life experience, political ideal and the exposure of dark politics in front, most of which are true. However, it uses some "comparison" techniques, which is completely different from the "rising" in the Book of Songs, and is not a simple metaphor. Its figurative image contains a distant artistic conception:
Fenwu has both inner beauty and self-cultivation. Hu Jiang is a dagger, and threading is thought to be a shovel. If I am not as good as me, I am afraid that my age is not with me. Mulan Xi in the morning and maize in the evening.
Lotus system is thought to be clothes, and beauty is thought to be clothes. It's embarrassing not to know. I feel I believe it. In his works, the poet wrote about his love for all kinds of vanilla flowers, implying his purity and elegance. When people read these poems, they not only feel the color and fragrance of flowers and plants, but also feel attracted by a far-reaching artistic conception. Gracilaria, Vishnu, Qiu Lan, lotus and hibiscus flowers, which grow deep in the rocks of water towns, can easily lead people's mood to the realm of fantasy. The poet uses them to symbolize noble character, and wears them to symbolize his clothes and morality. This writes a noble and moving image of the poet.
But the most important romantic feature of Li Sao is not here. But the important feature is that, in the poet's pen, a large number of myths and legends, historical figures, the sun, the moon and stars, mountains and rivers quicksand and so on. Are driven up, forming an extremely magnificent and complete picture. If the poet writes that his ideal can't be realized, no one can understand him. In a helpless mood, he fantasizes that he is driving a phoenix and a phoenix bird, flying into the sky in the wind and talking to God:
I set out from Wu in the morning and went to the county nursery in the evening. If you want to stay less energetic, the day will suddenly turn into dusk. I am cautious in my life, and I look forward to it; Rummanmanqi Xiu Yuan Xi, I will search up and down. After drinking the rest of the horses in the salty pond, the rest is always tied to the hibiscus flowers. If it is broken, it will take a slap in the face and the sheep will be easy to talk. Wang Shu was the pioneer before, and Fei Lian was the subordinate after; Emperor Luan warned Yu first, but told Yu not to eat it. I make the phoenix fly, followed by day and night; Floating away from Xi, the handsome Yun Ni came to the royal family; Disputes are always intermittent, and every bit is inseparable.
The artistic conception written in this paragraph is extremely broad and magnificent. The poet imagined that he left Cangwu in the south in the morning and arrived at Kunlun Mountain in the northwest before sunset. He also told the sun god to slow down and walk up and down before sunset. He drank horses in the salty pool where the sun bathed and rested in the hibiscus where the sun passed. He was followed by a large group of gods, such as Luna, Fengshen, Luan Huang and Schleswig. The momentum is very impressive.
This is not only a description of this paragraph, but also a lot of descriptions. He can write all the wonderful scenes in the universe into his pen.
There are also some places in Li Sao that express the poet's loneliness, which is different from the above:
Chao Wu will help Baishui, climb the wind and cut the horse. Turn around and cry; Mourn for the childless daughter on the mountain!
Who wants a beautiful woman and let a woman (you) go? Why there is no grass, and why you care about the past!
These sentences can make people feel sad and show another kind of affection in the works.
In Li Sao, Qu Yuan expresses his grief and indignation with the help of myths and legends and wonders in the universe. Disappointed with reality, he dreamed of roaming in the divine world. However, fantasy can't eliminate his resentment against reality. So when the poem is written in a gorgeous place, it immediately describes his disappointment. For example, it says that he flew into the sky in a phoenix and a phoenix bird and told the "emperor" in the sky to open the door, but the "emperor" was "leaning and watching". Another example is that he suddenly saw his hometown in the bright sky, drove all the way through Kunlun, crossed the quicksand and pointed to the West Sea. He was very sad. These works intricately express the poet's grief and indignation. At the same time, it was written repeatedly, twists and turns, and it was wonderful.
Li Sao is a changeable poem, which interweaves the narrative of facts, the expression of loneliness and the description of fantasy, and its structure is magnificent and perfect. Every part of the poem is beautiful and moving, and together it is a magnificent, harmonious and complete whole. Only with the richest and strongest feelings of loving the motherland and persisting in ideals can we write such a great chapter.