The scholars of the Eastern Jin Dynasty pursued leisurely life and had no intention of fame. Their literature may be dull or fresh and natural.
What are the reasons for the change in scholarly style and writing style in the Eastern Jin Dynasty? Commentators believe that this change is closely related to metaphysics. The influence of metaphysics is mainly reflected in the following two aspects. One is to directly explore mysteries in literature, thus forming a simple and dry style in the works. This type of literature was the mainstream literature of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, and later criticism of the Eastern Jin Dynasty literature was mainly aimed at this. Liu Xie said: "Since Guixuan in the Middle Dynasty, Jiangzuo has been prosperous, and it has become a literary style because of its remaining energy. This is because the world is extremely remote, and the poems mean Yitai. The poems must return to the purpose of the pillars, and the poems are the meaning of Qiyuan. Sparse. Therefore, we know that the changes of literature are influenced by the world's conditions, and their rise and fall are related to the sequence of time. The original is the end, and it can be known even after hundreds of generations." [8] Shen Yue said: "With the resurgence of the Jin Dynasty, Xuanfeng flourished alone. For learning, he was poor under the pillars. His natural history stopped at seven chapters. He galloped around the literary world, and the meaning was lost here. Since the founding of Wu and Yixi, there have been hundreds of generals in history. The poems that echo the couplets belong to the Yun Committee, and they all send words of virtue, meanings and mysterious pearls, and beautiful words that have never been heard of." [9] Shen Yue pointed out that the content of the literature of the Eastern Jin Dynasty was "a message of virtue and a mysterious pearl of meaning", but the style of writing lost its elegance. Qiu represents the style of literature in the Wei Dynasty; beauty is the main style of Western Jin literature. The literature of the Eastern Jin Dynasty abandoned both and moved towards a simple and dull style. Second, the development of metaphysics caused a major change in the aesthetic taste of scholars in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. They did not have the ambition of the Jian'an scholars to achieve unparalleled achievements, nor did they have the anger of the Zhengshi scholars. They even despised the pursuit of fame and fortune of the Western Jin scholars. What they advocated was indifference. As Mr. Wang Zhongling said: "The aesthetic taste of the Eastern Jin Dynasty can be summarized by the word 'Xuandan', and its core is 'dan'" [10].
This transformation was also affected by the special political environment of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Clan politics enabled the gentry to enjoy a high political status, while the development of the manor economy made the gentry financially worry-free. Clan politics and manor economy provided the gentry with full freedom in life. Scholars in the Eastern Jin Dynasty did not need to consider material needs, and fame, wealth and honor were easily available, so they turned to spirituality and paid attention to emotions. Another point is that this change is related to the landscape of Kuaiji. This is what this article focuses on. The scholars of the Eastern Jin Dynasty valued their temperament and loved to experience life while cruising through mountains and rivers. It is particularly important to note that the landscapes where the scholars of the Eastern Jin Dynasty lived were the beautiful landscapes of the south of the Yangtze River. Under the influence of this tranquil and beautiful natural landscape, their aesthetic taste and rational personality underwent drastic changes. The scholars of the Eastern Jin Dynasty pursued a kind of ideal personality that was broad and simple. “Whether it is broad or simple, it is the ideal personality of the noble family with a strong metaphysical color” [11]. Scholars of the Eastern Jin Dynasty loved landscapes and respected nature, and their requirements for literary and language forms were also based on nature. Therefore, compared with the literature of the Western Jin Dynasty, the literature of the Eastern Jin Dynasty is much simpler, forming a distant and fresh style. There were not many literary theories in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. We can get a glimpse of it from Li Chong's "Hanlin Lun". "Hanlin Lun" now only leaves a few incomplete articles, such as: "The appearance should be based on lofty ideals, not the flowers and algae first", "The school should not put the flowers and algae first", "The appearance should be praised by the picture, "It is better to keep the words simple and righteous" and "when discussing politics in court, it is better to be far-sighted and ambitious" [12]. Li Chong was born in the early Eastern Jin Dynasty, and his literary concepts were no longer those of the Western Jin Dynasty. The "ambition" mentioned many times in his essay refers to the development of literary artistic conception. Literature developed from the emotion and spirit of the Wei Dynasty to the magnificence of the Western Jin Dynasty; to the advocating "ambition" in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the overall style of writing was indifferent. A relatively stable environment is conducive to the development of literature and art. In order to maintain the special status of the family, the aristocracy also attaches great importance to literature and art. Therefore, calligraphy, painting and other arts in the Eastern Jin Dynasty have reached a very high level. Wang Xizhi's calligraphy and Gu Kaizhi's paintings are both first-rate in Chinese history. These personal accomplishments, such as calligraphy, painting, and music, were as much a symbol and display of the status of the Eastern Jin gentry as metaphysical talk and literature. Living in the beautiful mountains and rivers south of the Yangtze River, the scholars of the Eastern Jin Dynasty attached great importance to cultivating their emotions in the mountains and rivers. In the society of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, everyone from emperors to monks pursued a kind of understanding in natural landscapes. When Jian Wen entered the Hualin Garden, he looked around and said: "The place of understanding does not have to be far away, just like the forest and water, you can have your thoughts in Hao and Pu, and feel that birds, beasts, birds and fish come to your relatives." [13] In their eyes, mountains and rivers are an independent existence. Wang Huizhi said: "Walking up from the mountain valley, the mountains and rivers complement each other, making it overwhelming for people to take in. It is especially difficult to appreciate it in autumn and winter" [14]. Gu Kaizhi said that the mountains and rivers of Kuaiji have "thousands of rocks competing for beauty, and thousands of ravines contending for water flow; the vegetation and trees cover them, and the clouds bloom like clouds" [15]. Scholars of the Eastern Jin Dynasty believed that the truth of the universe and life was hidden in the natural landscape.
Therefore, scholars often went in and out of mountains and rivers. Wang Xizhi, Xie An, Xu Xun, Zhi Dun and other famous scholars and monks "went out to fish and swim in the mountains and rivers, and when they entered, they chanted literary texts, but there was no worldly meaning" [16]. If the celebrities in the Bamboo Forest were out of anger, and the celebrities in China and Korea really valued indulgence, then the celebrities in the Eastern Jin Dynasty turned to the pursuit of personal cultivation and the joy of landscapes.