I don’t know which one you mentioned as the first one. The two poems below have been called China's first love poems. "Guanyong" is the first poem in the Book of Songs, the earliest collection of poems in China. However, "Shangxie" is indeed a famous love poem circulated among the people. All are famous.
Shangxie! I want to know you and live a long life. There are no mausoleums in the mountains, the rivers are exhausted, there are thunders in the winter, rain and snow in the summer, the heaven and the earth are united, but I dare to be with you
Guan Jue
Guan Guan Jujiu, in the island of the river.
A graceful lady, a gentleman is a good man.
Scattered waterlilies flow left and right.
A graceful lady, I long for her.
I can’t get what I want, so I sleep hard and think about it.
It’s leisurely, tossing and turning.
Pick them from left to right.
A graceful lady, a harp and a harp.
There are different kinds of waterlilies, which are sprouted on the left and right sides.
A graceful lady, played with bells and drums.
New Interpretation of "Guan Ju"
Author of the article: [Symbol]
Introduction: Starting from the textual interpretation of the poem "Guan Ju", explore its Real content. The conclusion is: "Guanyong" neither praises the "virtue of the concubine" nor the "free love of the working people", but is the story of aristocratic men and women enjoying each other.
The Book of Songs is the first collection of poems in the history of Chinese literature. The poems recorded in it date back to the early years of the Zhou Dynasty. This collection of poems has always been said to be difficult to read. In addition to readers not understanding the political culture, social background, customs and customs of the Zhou Dynasty, the main reason is that the text is so far apart that it is difficult to understand. Once the text is explained clearly, most of the poem is already understood. Therefore, when we explain "Guan Ju" today, we must also start by explaining the text.
1. Interpretation
"Guan Guan": bird call: "Jujiu": name of water bird: "River" is originally the specific name of the Yellow River, but later generally refers to the water flow in the north: "zhou": the land in the water: "youyao" originally described the depth of the gap. "Mao Shi" trained it as "quiet", so: "Shu" and "Mao Shi" trained it as "good", and later everyone also interpreted it as " good". In pre-Qin literature, it was also used to mean "good", but the original meaning of "Shu" is the purity of water. Since the poet's association occurs near the water, it seems reasonable to use the purity of water to describe the beauty of a woman: the word "gentleman" does not have any value evaluation at all, but is just a pronoun for a person of dignity and social status.
Up to this point, there are no big problems, but the next two words are a bit troublesome. Today, the word "好" is often pronounced in the third tone and used as an adjective, but less often in the fourth tone as a verb. However, in the pre-Qin period, "good" was mostly used as a verb and auxiliary verb, meaning "hobby" or "liking", while "good" was rarely used as an adjective. "Mao's Poems" explains the word "Qiu": "It is also a match. It is said that the concubine is related to Ju's virtues. She is a good woman who is quiet, chaste and dedicated, and should be a good match for a gentleman." This means "Qiu" is used as a noun and interpreted as "spouse" ”, using “good” as an adjective. Zheng Xuan, who was born in the late Han Dynasty, felt that there was a problem. He interpreted "hao" as the verb "reconciliation" and "qiu" as "enmity". He also quoted the ancient article "resentful spouses turn into enemies" and said that "hao qiu" is The concubine acted as a gentleman to reconcile the conflicts between wives and concubines, which is of course suspected of being based on the truth. The key here is the part of speech "鑑". In the Eastern Han Dynasty, Mao Heng's "Mao Shi" that interpreted the Book of Songs had not yet become the only authoritative one. When Xu Shen wrote "Shuowen Jiezi", he interpreted "Qiu" as "gathering". "The Book of Songs·Daya" also has a sentence about "thinking that the people are in trouble". Therefore, the word "鑑" seems to be a verb, and the root of fear is related to "qiu". I secretly thought that since the word "鑑" comes from the word "walk" (meaning to run), and the sound of "begging", it may also be interpreted as the "pursuit" we talk about today. If "鑑" is a verb, I'm afraid it would be difficult to interpret "好" as an adjective here. The two words "haoqiu" can be combined to mean "want to pursue" or "yearn for". However, Zheng Kangcheng taught "Qiu" as "Qiu", which may indicate that there was a version written as "Qiu" in the Eastern Han Dynasty. "Qiu" and "Qiu" have the same pronunciation in ancient times, and they can be used interchangeably if they have the same pronunciation. However, I don't know whether "Qiu" is the code word for "Qiu" here, or whether "Qiu" is the code word for "Qiu".
"Erya" means "Qiu" and "PI" in the same language, so Mao Heng's explanation may not be wrong. "Haoqiu" should be trained as "good spouse".
Rather than forcefully speaking, it is better to keep both sides.
Everyone says that "Nymphae" is an edible waterweed: "Liu", "Erya" and "Mao Shi" are all taught as "Qiu"; Zhu Xi's "Ji Zhuan" said: " "Take it with the flow of the water": "寤" means "wake up", "毤" means "sleep", "寤NMei" means "day and night, all the time"; the word "service" in the next paragraph has always been very controversial. , "Mao's Poems" says that "submit" means "thinking", Zheng Xuan said it means "serving", and Zhu Xi said it means "huai". I think one of the two words "si" and "submit" should be a modal particle. "You" comes from "heart" and has always been interpreted as "worry", "si" and "worry": "芼" should be what we Beijingers call "picking vegetables".
Second, analysis
Judging from the tone of the whole poem, the protagonist is an aristocratic man, "seeking for him", "sleeping and thinking about it", "tossing and turning", "playing with friends" The subjects of "Zhonggu Lezhi" and "Zhonggu Lezhi" are all this "gentleman". There can be no doubt about this. So, who is picking the water plants? Throughout the Book of Songs, most of the people who pick wild vegetables are women, such as "curling ears", "picking kidneys", "picking green", etc. Therefore, the person picking wild vegetables must be a woman. What does women’s collection of water plants have to do with our young aristocratic people? None of the ancient explanations are satisfactory. Mao Heng said: While the concubine was picking water plants, she thought that if her husband married this little wife, she would have a companion when picking water plants.
The wife of a good friend once said to me: I hope he will marry a wife who can carry my purse! A joke is a joke, I'm afraid there are not many such "good wives". Later people probably also felt this difficulty. Zhu Xi thought it was just a matter of curiosity and said: "Those jagged water plants should be left and right, and there is no way to flow them. This graceful lady should be kept awake all day long and never forget to seek after them." Hu Chenggong said: "Because water plants can flow, ladies can be sought after." The more you explain it, the harder it becomes to understand, and the further you explain it, the farther you go.
I thought privately: It was the "fair lady" who was picking water plants: the "gentleman" saw her picking water plants by the water and felt longing for her. Another point that is easy to misunderstand is that women who pick wild vegetables are not necessarily working people. The "Book of Songs" writes that those who pick wild vegetables are mostly the daughters and families of nobles.
The singing of birds on the river island can be said to be exciting, but it is more accurate to say that it describes the place, environment and atmosphere.
The poet longed for this girl picking water plants and thought to himself: What a beautiful couple it would be for such a quiet and beautiful woman to match a gentleman like me? In Mao's words) This is reminiscent of The beautiful and intelligent princess and the handsome and wealthy prince in "Arabian Nights".
The beautiful image of the girl caressing the floating water plants along the water made the poet unforgettable day and night. Longing for her but not being able to get her tortured the young man to worry all day long and stay awake all night. He wants to exchange the elegant piano and harp for the girl's friendship; use the moving bells and drums to exchange for the girl's joy.
Zhu Xi said: "The harp and harp are the small ones that enjoy the music. The bells and drums are the ones that enjoy the great music." What he saw is very pertinent.
Elegant "small music" is suitable for an intimate and intimate atmosphere, so "harp music" should be used; loud and clear "big music" is suitable for joyful and lively scenes, so "bells and drums music" should be used.
Every move the girl made while picking water plants was deeply imprinted in the poet's heart. One sentence describes the beauty of her water chestnut picking, and one sentence imagines her playing the music of harp, harp, bells and drums. One is near, the other is far, one is real and the other is empty. They appear alternately in the poem, going back and forth, and the music is full of emotions.
3. Commentary
Confucius's evaluation of "Guanyong" is the earliest poetry comment in China since written records.
The "Book of Songs" has always been said to be the pinnacle of Chinese poetry art and a model for all generations: "Zhou Nan" is the first style of the Fifteen Kingdoms, "the foundation of Wanghua" and the righteousness of style poetry; And "Guan Ju" is the first song of "Zhou Nan". Its position in the history of Chinese literature is too important. From Confucius down, everyone evaluates it. The changes in the evaluation of "Guan Ju" are a reflection of the evolution of literary concepts in the past dynasties.
The "Lu Shi" in the early Han Dynasty said: "Kang Wang Yan Dynasty, 'Guan Ju' made a satire", which is believed to be a satire on King Kang of Zhou for being indulged in the pleasures of the harem and not getting up in the morning. "Mao's Poems" believes that the concubine wrote it for the gentleman looking for "a good woman who is quiet, chaste and devoted". Zhu Xi of the Song Dynasty believed that King Wen of Zhou's "palace" saw Taisi (Queen Wen)'s excellent character and wrote poems to praise her.
"Lu Shi" was lost a long time ago, and we have no way of knowing why he said this. "Mao Shi" says that a wife is looking for a concubine for her husband. If she can't find a concubine, she will be so anxious that she can't sleep all night. This seems to be far from reasonable. However, "Mao Shi" has an iron backer, which is the "Small Preface" written by Zixia, a student of Confucius.
The "Small Preface" said: "'Guan Ju' is happy to have ladies to match gentlemen, and he is worried about promoting talents, and does not lust after his lust... This is the meaning of 'Guan Ju'." Most scholars in the Song Dynasty did not believe it. "Small Preface", so Zhu Xi had another explanation, but he still couldn't escape the idea of ??"the virtue of a concubine". After 1949, mainland literary critics did not believe these, thinking that the poems about "simple working people" enjoying themselves by the river were a portrayal of "boldly breaking through the shackles of feudal ethics."
I personally think that these are all about making literary criticism serve politics. I first have a "guiding idea" in my head, and then misinterpret the original poem in order to conform to it. Mao Heng and Zhu Xi certainly fell into the trap of "concubine virtues", and people today are also trapped in the well of "praising the simple love of the working people" and cannot get out.
It is said that the protagonist is an aristocratic young man, not only because of the word "gentleman", but also because of the words "friends with harp, harp, music" and "music with bells and drums" below, which all show his elegance, moderation and wealth. His pursuit is not a naked confession of love, and he does not get what he wants, nor is he sad and self-destructive, nor is he rude and barbaric, but to use the sound of the harp and the harp to gain the friendship of the lady, and to use the music of bells and drums to gain the lady's joy. A person who is "rich and courteous". Rather than saying that this poem is about "the virtues of a concubine", it is better to say that it is about "the style of a gentleman". Therefore, Confucius said: "Guanyong is happy but not obscene, sad but not sad." This is an eternal truth.