"Preface to the Lanting Collection" is also titled "Linhe Preface", "Han Tie", "March 3rd Lanting Poems Preface", etc. On March 3rd in the ninth year of Yonghe reign of Emperor Mu of Jin Dynasty (AD 353), Wang Xizhi, then the internal historian of Kuaiji, and his friends Xie An, Sun Chuo and 41 other people gathered in Lanting Pavilion to compose poems and drink wine. Wang Xizhi compiled the famous names and poems written by them into a collection, and wrote a preface to describe the incident of drinking Qushui and express the inner feelings caused by it. This preface is the "Preface to the Lanting Collection". This preface is greatly influenced by Shi Chong's "Preface to Jingu Poems", and its achievements are far superior to "Preface to Jingu Poems". ?
The article first describes the time, place and participants of the meeting, concisely and comprehensively. Then describe the natural environment and surrounding scenery where Orchid Pavilion is located, using simple and well-organized language. To describe the scenery, start from the big picture, from far to near, then from near to far, and push to infinity. First, he writes about the high mountains and ridges, then gradually he writes about the clear and turbulent rivers, and then he goes down the river to transcribe the characters' activities and their moods, combining movement and stillness. Then he adds the natural scenery, starting from the clear blue sky and the gentle spring breeze, and naturally pushing towards the vast universe and all things in the world. The artistic conception is clear and elegant, and the mood is cheerful and smooth. The Lanting banquet can really be said to be "all four beauties, two difficult to combine".
But there is no banquet in the world that lasts forever. Where there is gathering, there must be parting. The so-called "happy and sad come to an end" should be people's common mood, although people have different choices and different temperaments. Just now, I felt extremely happy about what I longed for and finally obtained, but in an instant, it was already a thing of the past. Human life is no exception. The so-called "I don't know that old age is coming" (Confucius's words), "The old man is slowly approaching" (Qu Yuan's words), "In the world of life, one is dying as if the dust is flying" ("Nineteen Ancient Poems") ), this cannot help but arouse people's emotions. Whenever we think of the fact that human life, no matter how long it is, will eventually perish, it makes people feel even more desolate and sad. If the previous paragraph is about narrative and scene description, then this paragraph is about discussion and lyricism. The author expresses his longing for life and persistent enthusiasm in expressing his lament that life is short and life is fleeting. ?
During the Wei and Jin Dynasties, metaphysics talks were popular for a while, and gentry literati mostly used Zhuangzi's "Equality of Things" as a pretext, pretending to be open-minded and disdainful of meritorious deeds. Wang Xizhi was also a eloquent literati, but in terms of political thought and life ideals, Wang Xizhi was different from other literati. He once said: "False talk is a waste of work, and idle writing hinders important matters" (Shishuoxinyu·Yu Chapter). In this preface, Wang Xizhi also clearly denounced "Yi Shisheng" and "Qi Peng Shang" as a This false outlook on life clearly affirms the value of life. ?
This article has a fresh, simple and non-embellished style. The language is fluent, clear and moving, which is completely different from the works of the Wei and Jin Dynasties that modeled mountains and rivers, "Li picked out hundreds of words, and competed for the price of one sentence" ("Wen Xin Diao Long·Ming Poems"). The sentence pattern is neat and varied, mainly short sentences, with occasional sentences in the prose. The rhythm is harmonious and pleasant to the ear.