Shen Baozhen lived in the late Qing Dynasty, and the country declined, with a deep legacy of internal and external troubles. This historical and social background had a profound influence on the formation of his thought. At the same time, the late Qing Dynasty was also the period when couplets, an important branch of China classical literature, reached its peak. From the literati class to the literati class, couplets have become a common practice, and Shen Baozhen has been influenced by this trend without exception. Especially, Fuzhou couplet school, headed by Lin Zexu and Liang Zhangju, held a decisive position in the national couplet field at that time. Under such circumstances, influenced by the popularity of Fuzhou couplets since childhood, Shen Baozhen has a special liking for couplets and will never change it. From teenagers to young adults until old age, from Fuzhou to Jiangxi, Jiangsu and then to Taiwan Province Province, there are traces of Shen Baozhen's creation of couplets in various periods of his life.
Shen Baozhen's couplets are written everywhere and lost everywhere. Fortunately, at that time, Fujian-sent couplets writers started with Liang Zhangju's Conghua, and then wrote couplets, which recorded rich and colorful historical materials of Fuzhou couplets, including some representative couplets of Shen Baozhen. The main works of Shen Baozhen's couplets are Lin Zaiquan's Couplets in the Late Qing Dynasty, Wang Baochen's Couplets Supplement, Sakya's Couplets Collection, Athena Chu's Couplets in Zhejiang New Dialect and Wu Gongheng's Couplets in Hunan Dialect.
Shen Baozhen had shown his agility in dealing with this matter in his childhood. There is a cloud in the couplet. When Shen Baozhen was young, Lin Zexu tried to play the harp with the name of a fish, and Shen Baozhen answered with the name of a bird calling a kettle. This is a wonderful right, and it is really not simple. When Shen Baozhen was young, he wrote couplets on Wu Shishan and Minjiang River in Fuzhou. The active period of Shen Baozhen's creation of couplets began in middle age, and most of them were mainly created after the age of 40 and before his death at the age of 60. During these 20 years, the main genres of couplets are theme couplets, temple fairs, elegiac couplets, and occasionally some birthday couplets and other gifts. Presiding over Fujian shipping administration and patrolling Taiwan are the two most important periods in Shen Baozhen's political career, and also the two most important stages in his couplet creation.
Couplets are publicly hung on pillars, and the content is obvious to all, which has the function of preaching and educating people. Shen Baozhen not only knows this well, but also attaches great importance to their practical application. After the completion of Fujian Ship Administration yamen, Shen Baozhen personally wrote many couplets to encourage the ship administration personnel to work hard. "Couplets Record" said: "The couplets hanging in the bureau are all written by the government (Shen Baozhen)." According to "official couplets", "Old Yanping King Temple was in Fucheng, Taiwan Province Province ... Shen Wen CPSU was ordered to cross Taiwan ... and expand it ... and inscribed couplets ..." It can be seen that when Shen Baozhen visited Taiwan Province Province, he also publicized the territory of Taiwan Province Province since ancient times by inscribed couplets.
When Shen Baozhen presided over Fujian Shipping Administration, he also strongly advocated the activities of poetry bells in his spare time. Stone bell originated in Fujian, which is a special form of couplets. And look at a record in "Couplets Record":
"Shi Zhong ... Su is extremely addicted to this. Every episode in her spare time is a poet friend, ringing the bell and playing bowls. With "snow, flat" word crown, Shen Baozhen sentence cloud:
Accompanied by peers in snowy days;
Look at the offspring from the terrace.
That kind and frank, beyond words. And with the word "door", the content is the same as the fifth song, Shen Baozhen said:
Mulberry doesn't know the family background;
Huayi once asked Juan.
The language is also wide and big, which can be read as couplets. "
Today, the activities of Majiang Poetry Society are still very active, and its origin can be traced back to the initiation of Shen Baozhen.
Shen Baozhen is a lover of couplets. Usually he pays great attention to collecting exquisite couplets from all over the world. In the second year of Guangxu (1876), Lin Qingquan, a native of Fuzhou, drew up the Couplet Record. Shen Baozhen learned of this situation in Jiangning (now Nanjing) and generously gave Lin Qingquan more than 100 couplets he had collected for many years.
(2) Shen Baozhen's patriotic thoughts on couplets.
As a capable and promising politician, Shen Baozhen's couplet creation is not a simple literary activity, but an expression of his aspirations and ideals, especially his couplet works created during his inspection tour in Fujian Shipbuilding Administration and Taiwan Province Province, showing strong patriotic thoughts.
Five years of Tongzhi in Qing Dynasty (1866), recommended by Zuo, Shen Baozhen became prime minister and ship administration, and presided over Fujian ship administration. At the beginning of the grass-roots construction, Shen Baozhen chose to build a factory at the lower back of Sanqi Mountain in Mawei, Fuzhou. By July of the seventh year of Tongzhi (1868), most of Fujian's shipbuilding was completed, and Shen Baozhen happily wrote couplets. For example, the title instrument door is connected to the cloud:
Starting from a basket is not difficult from ancient times to the present;
There are saints in China today.
It can be seen that Shen Baozhen has entrepreneurial spirit and is determined to break the proud situation of foreign warships and build China's coastal defense military strength. "Translated into Nine New Laws" means that ship administration should not only set up shipyards, but also set up ship administration schools. The couplet expresses Shen Baozhen's hope that students will study hard, master advanced western technology and become pillars of the country. Since then, the development shows that many captains, fleet commanders and navy chiefs from the North and South Ocean Fleet to the Republic of China Navy have graduated from Mawei Ship Administration School, among which there are many patriotic generals, such as Deng Shichang and Lin Yongsheng, who died heroically to defend China's maritime border.
Also on the lobby cloud:
If you see a small profit, it will not work. Selfishness is beautiful.
Be kind to everyone, be diligent in seeking, and dare not be afraid of difficulties.
This couplet is a description of Shen Baozhen's open and selfless inner world. After Shen Baozhen became Minister of Shipping, he tried his best to fend off the criticism of imperial conservatives and the obstruction of imperialists. He worked hard day and night to build warships and consolidate national defense, regardless of personal gains and losses. It is reported that Shen Baozhen presided over the ship administration for 8 years and built 20 warships. It can be seen that his words of "night service" are true, and he became an important founder of China's modern navy.
Li Anyun also topic Tianhou Palace:
But God is smart, and I hope that the spirit of the Millennium will make skilled class workers become treasure rafts together;
At the coastal gateway here, you can see the waves are still, and the girl in ice clothes worships the cloud flag devoutly.
The couplet "Qi" is Yao's skillful craftsman, and "Ban" refers to Lu Ban. By praying for Mazu, the goddess of the sea, couplets inspire and expect shipyard employees to become skilled craftsmen of ancient Luban warships. The second part emphasizes that as long as we have warships and let the flags fly high, we can ensure the inviolability of the gateway in coastal areas. According to reports, after its completion, mawei shipyard became the largest shipyard in the Far East at that time, with 2,000 to 3,000 workers at ordinary times and as many as 37,000 people engaged in busy projects, which trained a group of working-class workers who were skilled in their work. Shen Baozhen, obsessed with the security of the coastal gateway, is determined to succeed. Until his death, he insisted that "Japan should not be underestimated, and armored ships must be done." There is no doubt that his patriotic thought of paying attention to preventing foreign aggression is worthy of full recognition.
In the 13th year of Tongzhi (1874), the Japanese invaded Taiwan Province Province, and the Qing court ordered Shen Baozhen to lead the troops to patrol. After Shen Baozhen arrived in Taiwan Province Province, on the one hand, he prepared for the protection of warships and practiced brave equipment; On the other hand, it was blamed on the Japanese army, forcing the Japanese government to agree to make peace and the Japanese army withdrew from Taiwan Province Province. During Shen Baozhen's stay in Taiwan, in order to strengthen the jurisdiction, defense and economic development of Taiwan Province Province, the Qing court was invited to build a shrine for Zheng Chenggong and personally wrote an inscription for the shrine:
It is never unusual to open up the ages, and the wasteland left this mountain and river with the world of adherents;
A once-in-a-lifetime experience, the shortcomings are still in the world. Is a perfect person.
Zheng Chenggong Temple, located in Tainan, was founded in the early Qing Dynasty. Its real name is Kaishanwang Temple, in order to successfully recover the merits of Taiwan Province Province. In view of the Japanese invaders' intention to move, Shen Baozhen asked the Qing court to rename it King Temple of Yanping County, because Emperor Li Yong of Ming Dynasty once named Zheng Chenggong King of Yanping County. Shen Baozhen used the opportunity of changing the temple name to expand the temple, and wrote couplets to show that Taiwan Province Province has always been the territory of China. This couplet highly praised the national hero Zheng Chenggong. This couplet is widely circulated. It is the most representative work of Shen Baozhen's couplets, and it is also the calligraphy of Shen Baozhen's couplets that can be seen at present.
Shen Baozhen also wrote a couplet in Zheng Chenggong Temple:
Ziyang, a maritime observer 500 years ago, put an end to later sages;
Being far apart, Myanmar is eight thousand miles away, so it is particularly important to pay for orphans.
The first couplet "Ziyang" refers to Zhu, and the couplet quotes a little-known allusion. According to the records of Danshui Tangzhi in Taiwan Province Province, "Song Wengong and Zhu Deng live in Fuzhou Gushan, and the area is called Longdu Cangjiang. After 500 years, there will be a county with an overseas population of one million. " Zhu's "overseas Chinese county" refers to Taiwan Province Province. Five hundred years later, Shen Baozhen toured Taiwan, repelled foreign enemies, and paid tribute to (the second part of the "orphan minister"), which reminded him of the prophecy of the former sage Zhu. Shen Baozhen soon began to develop and construct Taiwan Province Province after pacifying the situation in Taiwan Province Province. He organized troops to "cut through thorns", tried his best to penetrate the north and south of Taiwan Province Province, encouraged the development of areas inhabited by Gaoshan people, and suggested mining Keelung coal mine. He also suggested that the Governor of Fujian be moved to Taiwan Province Province, "with a special task and a long time". According to the economic development of Taipei at that time, he suggested that a government should be set up in Taipei to administer the three counties of Danshui, Hsinchu and Yilan, which made positive contributions to the development and construction of Taiwan Province Province. This couplet not only expresses the memory of Zheng Chenggong, but also implies Shen Baozhen's intention to build Taiwan Province Province and defend Taiwan Province Province.
(3) The artistic features of Shen Baozhen's couplets.
Shen Baozhen's father, Shen, was born as a juren. He was educated in Shen Baozhen, smart and studious. 265,438+0 years old is a juren and 28 years old is a scholar. He is brilliant and gifted. Throughout Shen Baozhen's couplets, there are quite artistic standards, which are bold and unrestrained, gloomy and passionate, with different styles, sincere expression of emotions, refined casting words and steady fighting. Although there are not many couplets handed down from ancient times, they are enough to reflect Shen Baozhen's profound literary accomplishment. He is known as the master of couplets, and he is well-deserved in the couplets altar in the late Qing Dynasty. He was also an important member of Fuzhou couplet school after Lin Zexu and Liang Zhangju.
1. Full of love and words. The most prominent features of Shen Baozhen's couplets are sincere feelings and rich love stories. This not only reflects the strong patriotic feelings in the above-mentioned examples, but also profoundly expresses the deep friendship in some of his elegies.
After the unfortunate death of Shen Baozhen's wife Lin Puqing, Shen Baozhen held a couplet in grief:
I wonder why I should repay you in this life, but I know I am lucky when I die. I still care about my aunt under the spring.
Generally speaking, you should take care of yourself first and look after the children before going to bed.
Lin Puqing is Lin Zexu's daughter and Shen Baozhen's cousin. They were childhood friends, but after they got married, they respected and cared more about each other. No matter whether Shen Baozhen lived in Beijing or was released to Jiangxi and other places, Lin Puqing always accompanied him and taught his son. This is really a noble family. The feelings expressed by this elegiac couplet are direct and mournful, and Shen Baozhen's deep sadness is pinned on the loss of his wife in his later years. The threshold couplet records commented that the couplet was "extremely gentle and sincere" and "circulated for a while", and the couplet also said that it was "too painful to read".
In the early years of Guangxu, the famous Confucian scholar Lin Changyi died, and Shen Baozhen sent a couplet:
The total angle waits on Longmen, and the wind and rain sing songs, making it as concentric as last night;
Go to Madu lightly, the waves are close at hand, and the broken arm will hate the end.
When Shen Baozhen was a teenager, he was influenced by Lin Changyi, a rural elder, and by Lin Changyi's thought of practical application. Patriot Lin Changyi strongly supported Lin Zexu's ban on smoking in Britain and named his residence "The Carving Tower". Shen Baozhen took his poem "Shooting Eagle Tower" as an example, saying that "Confucius' poetry is shooting eagle, which is also a common poem in the world". The first part of the League, "Whistling songs in the wind and rain, making promises with one heart", is a portrayal of the struggle between teachers and students when the nation is in danger. Lin Changyi lived in Guangdong in his later years, and Guangdong returned to Fujian and died. Shen Baozhen was in ponytail. "The waves were close at hand, and I missed them. "The couplets started with teenagers and family business, and I didn't see the teacher for the last time. The whole couplet reflects the deep friendship between the two of them. The couplet is sincere and smooth.
2. Don't make mistakes. Shen Baozhen's couplets are often unconventional and unique in creative techniques. For example, some of his birthday couplets and elegiac couplets are entertainment works, but they are by no means common stylized rhetoric. For example, Shen Baozhen took Fuzhou Yang Zhongyu as a link to "Changsha Fu Wei"; The evaluation of this couplet in Taibai Riding a Whale and Couplet Record is that "the four characters are comparable, and the veteran is like a veteran, but the essence is not much".
Another example is grasping He in Hunan:
If it is not worn by the master, the color of the famous mountains in the world will be reduced;
From the earliest peers, listening to the flowing water in Haidong is twice as painful.
He is a famous calligrapher. Wherever you go, you will leave ink scenic spots and add color to the mountains and rivers. This couplet reflects He's superb calligraphy achievements in this respect, but it has no positive description and avoids the common procedures of elegiac couplets. It is really ingenious. In the couplet, "East Sea Flowing Water" refers to the Taiwan Province Strait. According to "Couplet Supplement", "Shen Shuai patrols the sun".
In the sixth year of Guangxu (1879), Zhou Meichu, known as Mo Niu, celebrated his seventieth birthday in Fuzhou. At this time, Shen Baozhen was appointed Governor of Nanyang Liangjiang and Minister of Foreign Trade, and was stationed in Jiangning (now Nanjing). He sent Li Anyun to:
Shoupeng is here, I am alone;
Do your best for your brother and study for you for ten more years.
In the couplets, Shen Baozhen first expressed regret that he couldn't celebrate his birthday in person, but also expressed his homesickness. Then he expressed his admiration for Zhou's reading of poetry, and at the same time hinted that he would devote himself to learning after he became an official. Unfortunately, a few months later, Shen Baozhen died of illness. This couplet does not make a pile of eulogies for ordinary birthday couplets, but talks about Kan Kan, which is really touching and reflects the breeze of a gentleman's friendship.
3. Fresh and elegant. Shen Baozhen's couplets are perfect. He can choose different creative techniques according to different creative themes. For example, the couplets of scenic spots written by him are fresh and elegant in style, like a landscape painting, which is fascinating.
When Shen Baozhen was young, he once described the Li Anyun Pavilion on the Minjiang River:
In the pitching pavilion, who plays a few iron flutes to awaken the vicissitudes of life;
Wandering around the fence, do I work hard day and night with the ambition of cloth and plain face?
This couplet shows the author standing in Jiangting, overlooking the cross-flow of the river by the railing, and seeing the endless waves of heaven and earth. The couplet is open and imaginative, which expresses the great ambition of young Shen Baozhen.
From Xianfeng to the beginning of Tongzhi, Shen Baozhen served as the magistrate of Jiujiang and the governor of Jiangxi. Here, he wrote a title for the Plum Blossom Hall in Shi Zhongshan:
Plum blossoms are sixty trees, snow is the spirit, and dreams send Luo Fu to forget me;
Two or three people are sailing, flowers are bosom friends, and they laugh through the sea to carry Gan Kun.
Shi Zhongshan is located on the east bank of the Yangtze River, with towering cliffs and beautiful scenery. The Plum Blossom Hall is the highest place, also known as the "Sixty Plum Blossom Boat", surrounded by 60 primitive plum trees. The style of couplets is fresh, natural and refined, which blends with the surrounding breeze, bright moon, thin shadow and delicate fragrance, reflecting an elegant and noble artistic conception and Shen Baozhen's personal accomplishment. Of course, the artistic features of Shen Baozhen's couplets are not limited to the above three points. His couplets are full of patriotic passion, worrying about the country and the people, and even clever use of allusions, clever antithesis and flexible couplets. By briefly discussing the general situation of Shen Baozhen's couplets and their patriotic thoughts and artistic features, we can see that these couplets are not only an important part of Shen Baozhen's literary creation, but also useful evidence for studying Shen Baozhen's patriotic thoughts and life stories.