In the autumn of the 26th year of Wanli (1598), the Peony Pavilion by Tang Xianzu was finished.
In his excitement, he wrote a short essay, The Peony Pavilion Inscription, for this masterpiece. Subsequently, it was delivered to Shupu Street, Huwan Town, Jinxi County adjacent to Linchuan for engraving.
"Women in the world are affectionate, so it's better to be like those in Du Liniang! Dreaming that the person is ill, the disease is even, and it is described by hand painting. It is passed on to the world and then died. After three years of death, the person who can regain his dream is born. Such as Li Niang, is a lover's ear. I don't know what happened, but it went deep. The living can die and the dead can live. Those who are born but can't live and die, and those who die but can't be resurrected, are not affectionate. The love in the dream, why not true? There are few dreamers in the world! They will be married by recommending pillows, and those who stay close to each other will be in ruins ... My husband! What's going on in the world is beyond the reach of the world. Since you are not ordinary people, you should always be reasonable! There must be nothing in the first cloud, and there must be evil in the place where you know! "
This inscription is a declaration of "love". Although it is only two or three hundred words, it has overwhelming power, arousing China people's brand-new consciousness of "love" transcendence, as well as their obsession and praise of dreams and illusions. Its intensity is unprecedented not only in late Ming literature, but also in China literature as a whole.
"I don't know what happened, but it goes on and on. The living can die and the dead can live. " This passage, often quoted by later generations, can also be regarded as a literary expression of Tang's philosophy. However, the world only knows Tang as a writer and dramatist, and few people know him as a thinker.
? Why is the Tang family obsessed with "love" and "going deep"?
? In the history of thought, the late Ming Dynasty was the time when heresy was prominent. Tang's emphasis on "emotion" was actually related to the evolution of scholars' ideas at that time.
in the middle of Ming dynasty, after the rise of Wang (Yangming) in Vietnam and China, Wang (Gen) in Taizhou followed suit.
? The idea of Yangming's mind theory that "to conscience" and "heart is reason" is of great significance to Tang's emphasis on "emotion"
? Because this kind of "self-satisfied, self-contained, independent of teachers and friends" (Lu Jiuyuan's language) actually affirms people's independent consciousness and emphasizes people's individuality and normal heart. Since "mind is reason", worldly desires's mind is reason. As long as he goes with his lust, he will also get body kung fu.
Wang Gen, a Taizhou school, put forward the ideas of "respecting the body" and "sacrificing the body with Taoism", which had a more internal influence on the formation of Tang's thought of attaching importance to "emotion".
As a student of Luo Rufang, a disciple of Wang Gen, it is natural for Tang Xianzu to have more and deeper understanding of Wang Gen's thoughts. Wang Gen seldom talks about "conscience" and "heart", but when he talks about "body", he puts his heart into practice.
in Wang Gen's view, "the body is also the foundation of all things in the world; Everything in heaven and earth is at the end. Knowing the body is the foundation, and it is also close to the people with clear morality. " This is consistent with Tang Xianzu's theory that "people are precious", "the nature of heaven and earth is precious" and "the learning of adults begins with knowing life", which all emphasize the supremacy of perceptual life.
? "Respect for the body" is not only respect for the body of flesh and blood, but also the inner essence of respect for the body of life and emotion.
Wang Gen said "to be martyred with the Tao" and opposed "to be martyred with one's own body". In fact, this also contains great concern for life feelings, which is exactly what Tang tried to publicize. Here, we can see that Du Liniang, the embodiment of "the most affectionate feeling" he has carefully shaped, is originally based on something, and it is by no means groundless, or just a stroke of genius.
Tang's thought of attaching importance to "emotion" may be more influenced by his contemporary Li Zhi, and his understanding of "emotion" obviously has a lot in common with Li Zhi's thought. For example, in the Inscription of Dong Jieyuan's West Chamber, Tang Xianzu said: "Those who have aspirations also have feelings. The ancients said that it is also true that people who express their feelings and stop at rituals. Hoo hoo! Everything has its own purpose. Dong's affection for Dong lingers between flowers and moons, while the affection for Dong lingers between pen and ink. "
? Here, the so-called "everything has its own ambition", that is, ambition is in love, and love means ambition. In short, "those who are ambitious also have feelings." This is completely different from the past when the "ambition" of "poetry expressing ambition" was interpreted as "reason" and "courtesy". In other words, ambition is the ambition and purpose of emotion, not beyond emotion, and there is an independent "ambition" above emotion.
? Here, we can get a glimpse of the ideological background of Tang's literary creation, which is the "emotional ontology" of the whole collection.
Tang Xianzu also has a deep relationship with Buddhism. In his later years, he wrote "Ji Qi Xian Lian She Seeking Friends", but he wanted to live in seclusion in Lushan Mountain. He had "love" and "sex" with his good friend, the Taoist monk (Zhu Xi said: "Sex is reason." ) debate. In his view, it is too absolute for the Taoist priest to say that "those who have feelings will have no reason, and those who have feelings will have no reason."
They have different views and have not met many people, but they are lifelong best friends. The Taoist Buddhist monk decided that he was "brilliant in nature, shallow in lust and deep in nature, and really sought for a sharp weapon" and always wanted to become a monk. He has to be philosophical and understand him, like Bai Juyi and Su Dongpo. Bai Juyi and Su Dongpo have deep faith and research on Zen Buddhism, but they still can't find relief from Zen Buddhism. In the end, they are driven by emotion and can't forget the world. Although Tang said that "since he was taught, he has been in high spirits", but he still can't agree with him when he is asked to "dispel his feelings".
for Tang Xianzu, "emotion" and "sex" are not opposites. Emotion is born of human beings. Only when you have feelings can you see sex, and only when you have feelings can you understand.
He wrote a poem entitled "Seeing the Moon in the River, Meeting the Duke with Love", which expressed this problem more brilliantly in artistic words: "There are just too many feelings without mercy, and there are too many feelings to be exhausted. Solve the sentimental feelings, there is no shadow and no wave in the moon. " (Complete Works of Tang Xianzu, Volume 14)
In the 26th year of Wanli (1598), Tang Xianzu abandoned his official position and returned to Linchuan at the age of 49. He bought an abandoned homestead and built the Yuming Hall for living, writing, meeting guests and family banquets. Considering that he will spend the rest of his life writing plays, he also built a small stage in the east of Yumingtang to rehearse operas. The pavilion book in the garden has "a hook and a curtain are far away, and the day is long on a half-couch piano book."
? Yuming is a white camellia, and Lu You praised it as "elegant in rhyme". Tang Xianzu used it as the name of the hall, which is a metaphor for the character of the flower, indicating that he wants to be a person who is not vulgar at any time, is solitary and honest, and has a high style. Qian Qianyi said in "Tang Suichang Xianzu" that Tang Xianzu "lived in the Yuming Hall, with a messy literature and history, where guests and friends sat together, and Xiao was idle in singing and pitching," and "there was a block in his chest, and he was not finished writing pottery, so he wrote songs."
? When I stayed in Yumingtang, "Linchuan Four Dreams" only completed one "Purple Hairpin", and the rest were completed after returning home.
? According to Mr. Xia Zhiqing, Tang Xianzu's first three operas, Zi Xiao Ji, Zi Chai Ji and Peony Pavilion, mainly talked about "emotion" and determined its value, which transcended the supremacy of time. The two later books, The Story of Nanke (16) and The Story of Handan (161), talked about "dreams", putting the value of love on the premise of short life to test, shortening time with dreams and dramatizing the short life.
Tang Xianzu spent less than four years in script creation, but engaged in performance activities, which consumed the rest of his life until he died for about 16 years. Every row of a new play, Tang Xianzu has to personally go down to the theater and "make music" to teach singing.
Traditional Chinese opera is the art of "corner". The traditional Chinese opera stage has no lighting and scenery. To express the "meaning" of the play, it mainly depends on the singing of "Jiao Er" and its music accompaniment to achieve the effect.
However, the performer's cultural level is not high, so he can't understand the lyrics well, and his understanding of "Quyi" is not in place. Tang Xianzu, who was disconsolate, had to pinch the sandalwood board and teach Xiao Ling to "beat music": "Yumingtang blooms in spring, and the new words sing Peony Pavilion". Sad to shoot all over the place, no one will, and teach Xiao Ling from the tan mark. " (The Complete Works of Tang Xianzu, one of Two Drunk Tanabata Answers to Jundong, Volume 18)
After The Peony Pavilion came out, "the West Chamber was reduced in price after being read by family".
Du Liniang's tragic fate has produced a strong * * * sound among the women in the boudoir: Shang Xiaoling died of grief when she sang "Seeking Dreams"; Yu Erniang, a woman from Loujiang, hurt this song and "died in anger"; After reading the drama, Feng Xiaoqing wrote a poem to express his feelings: "You can't listen to the cold rain in the secluded window, but watch the Peony Pavilion by burning the lamp. There are also people who are crazy about me, and it is Xiaoqing who is sad. "
? When Tang Xianzu heard that a woman in Loujiang had read this song and died, he also wrote a poem condemning himself: "Why do you die for love? There must be a god for sorrow. For a time, the writing industry, the world has a heart. " (One of Two Crying Loujiang Women)
? Tang's thought of attaching importance to "emotion" and his dream-making techniques continued in the Qing Dynasty and even in A Dream of Red Mansions. Cao Xueqin was deeply influenced by traditional Chinese opera, especially by Tang Xianzu's works, in dealing with "emotion". The reason lies in the contradiction embodied in the opera itself: only through virtuality can self-expression be realized, and only through disguise can the truth be told. It is in this way that Cao Xueqin completes his unique confession mode of being true and false.
This year marks the 4th anniversary of Tang Xianzu's death, and anecdotal commemoration activities started several years ago. The details are as follows: The Peony Pavilion, a Kunqu opera, was originally adapted by Tang Xianzu and staged at Lincoln Center in new york, USA, causing a sensation (or controversy to be exact); Mr. Shuofang Xu revised and supplemented the Complete Works of Tang Xianzu for publication; The earliest engraving (photocopy) of The Peony Pavilion of Talented Persons was found in the United States. The year before last, Taiwan Province He Chuangshi Calligraphy Art Foundation and Shanghai Jinghua Art Institute jointly hosted the Ming Wanli Painting and Calligraphy Exhibition in the "Jinghua Art Space" at No.92 Tongren Road. Among the exhibits, Tang Xianzu wrote the poem "Lazy in the Red Dust" by the poet Ma Zhen. This seven-line poem is very rare and especially precious. The poem says: "Lazy in the Red Dust, the stone road is all the way into the chaotic mountains. Throw it at the cloud and plant Huang Du. When will I have three rooms? " Bell Zhu Wen "Tang Xianzu Seal" and Bai Wen "Ruoshi". There are two long postscripts of Yao Yuqin, a Shanghai collector, on the left and right silk. According to the viewer's description, the axis of this book is as good as new, which is amazing.