The prosperity of stereotyped writing in Ming Dynasty is not only the call of the times, but also the accumulation of culture. Li jinxi's Outline of the History of the Chinese Language Movement said: "Eight-part essay gradually flourished in the early Ming Dynasty, but it shined brilliantly in the literary world. Ancient prose, which used to be reasoning, can be integrated with parallel poetry and fu, into the beautiful language of poetry and attack the expression techniques of traditional Chinese opera. It is actually the most rare style. " During the 300 years of the Ming Dynasty, famous writers of eight-part essay came forth in large numbers, such as Qian Fu, Gui Youguang, Jin Sheng, Zhang Shichun, Luo Wanzao and Chen. Yu Changcheng's "One Hundred and Twenty Masterpieces" said: "There are Wang (Yan) as a righteous person, Longmen (Sima Qian) as a historian, Shaoling (Du Fu) as a poet, Jun (Wang Xizhi) as a calligrapher, and even more immortal." Qin Wang's works had a great influence on later generations, and all the literati in Ming and Qing dynasties took this as the standard, and almost every family had a copy. Wu wrote Fu Gongsun's daughter in Chapter 11 of The Scholars, "When I was eleven or twelve years old, I read books and read a manuscript of Wang". Girls are still like this, let alone scholars.
What exactly is an eight-part essay like? Gu's trial text format of Rizhilu said: "The words before Tianshun were only perfunctory explanations, either correct or scattered. At first, there was no definite formula and there were few single sentences. In the twenty-third year of Chenghua, I will try to write a text, and first mention three sentences, that is, talk about Lotte, four shares; There are four sentences in the middle, with four repetitions. Take back four sentences and tie a big knot. In the ninth year of Hongzhi, I will try to write, and I will mention three sentences first, namely, responsibility and four shares; There are two sentences in the middle, followed by Gong, four shares; Take back two sentences and tie a big knot. Between every four strands, one is positive and one is negative, one is virtual and one is solid, and one is shallow and one is deep. (original note:' there are two auxiliary sentences, four of which are correct, more than a dozen pairs, not just eight legs.' ) its two vertical grids, (original note:' indicates that there are two pairs of texts and two pairs.' Each sector has four strands, followed by the first grammar. So it has been called stereotyped writing for generations. If it is a long topic, it is not limited to this. After Jiajing, the style of writing changed day by day. If you ask Confucian scholars, you don't know what stereotyped writing is! "And he said," the first two sentences, or three or four sentences, is the key. Generally speaking, there are many dialogues, which were handed down by Song people. Explain what you mean, make four or five sentences, and call it a topic. Then put forward the master (original note:' Ceng Zi, Zisi and Mencius are all natural. Why did you make this statement? It is the origin. To Wanli, break two sentences and carry three sentences, not from the original. At the end of the article, what the sage said and saw, or a few crosses, or more than a hundred words, is called a big knot. There is no clear formula in this article. Now that there is a definite formula, at night, the word "eight-part essay" has finally become the general representative of all dead words.
It goes without saying that stereotyped writing is sinful in history.
First, it erodes the seeds of reading. In order to earn fame and fortune, scholars are proud of their poor classics and polish the words and deeds of sages and the words of the times. Later, I didn't even read the classics, but only "remembered the articles that I could write and articles on dozens of topics" (Gu's "God knows the spirit and proposes the topic"). Xu Dachun in Qing Dynasty wrote a satirical book "Daoqing", saying that "a scholar is the most unjust. Swearing, rotten as mud. The country tried to make a living, but it turned into a scam. Three sentences bear the title, two sentences break the title, wag your tail and shake your head, and the sidewalk is the height of the holy gate. Do you know what "three links" and "four histories" are? Which emperor is Huang Song and Han Zu? Hold your head high on the desk and talk about chapters, and buy new sharp tools in the store. I can read books side by side, and quarrels are all booing. Bagasse, chewed and chewed, what's the smell? Fail to live up to time and be in a coma for life. It is also the misfortune of the people and the court to teach him to deceive senior officials. " (According to Yuan Mei's Poems with the Garden, Volume XII) What can such a scholar do on earth? Gu Rizhilu's Novel angrily pointed out: "Foolish thinking of stereotyped writing is equivalent to burning books and burying Confucianism, and the talents are destroyed. Compared with the people in Xianyang suburbs, there are only more than 460 people." Some people even think that the Ming Dynasty perished because it used stereotyped writing to test scholars. "In the last years of Chongzhen, someone put forward an instrument cloud:' I would like to have a big mountain and a couple of Chongzhen to pay tribute to you. The late eight-part essay suddenly nodded. "Insisting on the court is also a cynical suggestion." (See Lv Liuliang's "Poetry in Dongzhuang, Song of the True Scholars") Shen Jiazhi's change and Chongzhen's hanging, this musical instrument really became a prophecy of the demise of Ming society.
Secondly, it lacks practical value. The eight-part essay representing sages is far from reality and can only be used as a "stepping stone" to the fame of the imperial examination. Gui Youguang, for example, is not only a master of modern Chinese, but also a giant of ancient Chinese. Although both of them are equally excellent, people only remember his lyric notes, such as A Brief Introduction to the First Man, Burial Records of Cold Flowers, Records of Xuanling, etc., which are his "The Universe is as Excellent as Writing Style" (The Book of Wang Answering the Maomen Magistrate). Because the eight-part essay lacks practical value, once it is driven off the historical stage, it loses its position. Unlike poetry, when it is no longer used as an examination tool, it still has strong vitality, so that it has not failed today. Stereotyped writing did have some practical examples. For example, some chapters in the late Ming Dynasty touched on the drawbacks of current politics, such as How to Make Eyes at him when Parting by You Dong in the Qing Dynasty, and the proletarian ideal written by Yang Du in the History of Yanyuan Garden, all of which were just the accidental stroke of individual literati, or the whim of individual talents, and eventually became history.
Third, its formalism is serious. Stereotyped writing has many rules and regulations, such as how to break the topic, receive the topic, stereotyped writing, fall ... and how to start, accept, turn and merge. Even the number of words is limited to 500 or 700. The cumbersome format of Wencheng drives people to follow the trend and dare not go beyond leisure. Gu's Record of the Day Wencheng pointed out: "The article has no fixed framework; It is not enough to just build a grid and then write a text. "Later, someone ridiculed this writing and imitated the ink scroll:" Heaven and earth are the dry Kun of the universe, and I hold it in my heart. It's been a long time, not a day. Looking back at the past, I pursue the dimension, so I don't want to take records and recite the classics of poetry books. After the Yuan Dynasty, the emperor was the son of heaven and the common people were Li Yuan. None of the hundreds of millions of people, thinking of making use of the world in time, went to the court of Langmiao. "Only form, no content, overlapping rooms, the worse of times and literature!
Fourth, this is nothing new. There are only so many words in the Four Books and Five Classics. How many questions can you give? For hundreds of years, every chapter, every section and every sentence has been given a title, which has been rotten by countless scholars, so there have been so-called interception, interception, detachment, interception, even long or short, affectionate or heartless, and so on. It is not surprising that every sentence is unreasonable. Therefore, Gu sighed in "Rizhilu Zhun Ti": "The disease in today's examination room is nothing more than a Zhun Ti." During the Xianfeng period, Yu Yue studied politics for Yuzhou, separated the Analects from "people from other countries are also called your wife" and "Yang Huo wants to see Confucius", and gave a ruthless title "Your wife wants Yang Huo", which involved frivolous banter. He also split Mencius into "Wang Su gave orders against Ni" and published the title of "Wang Su gave orders against Ni", saying that he was rebellious. If I hadn't reported it myself, during the Xianfeng period, the website was not so tight, and I was afraid that my head would fall to the ground.
Does that mean stereotyped writing is useless? Not exactly.
First of all, scholars were influenced by Confucian ethics by studying eight-part essay. Immersed in the Four Books and Five Classics, they succumbed to the Confucian theory of "self-cultivation, governing the country and calming the world" and were regarded as the code of words and deeds in life. The Ming Dynasty is not only the golden age of stereotyped writing, but also the most brilliant and tragic page in the history of intellectuals. The Ming dynasty was famous for its harsh treatment of its subjects, but the literati kept on forging ahead until their death. The so-called people born in the right direction, not to mention Fang Xiaoru, Yu Qian and Hai Rui, all won fame after a lifetime. It was the critical illness and righteous indignation of Wen, Huang Daozhou, Jin Sheng, Yang and others in the late Ming Dynasty that made them not only famous for their eight-part essays. After Manchu entered the Central Plains, they were all gentle, regardless of their second surname. Gui Zhuang lived in wild clothes for life, Huang lived in seclusion, Fang Yizhi cut his hair and became a monk, and there were countless intellectuals with national integrity. It is undeniable that the appearance of these magnificent heroes is influenced and played by Confucian classics.
Secondly, the writing theory and skills of eight-part essay can be used for reference by future generations. Fang Bao's "Four Books" said: "If you want to understand things clearly, you must trace back to the Six Classics and learn the theory of Confucianism in Song and Yuan Dynasties. If you want to speak properly, you must take it from the books of three dynasties and two Han dynasties. If you want to prosper, you must sprinkle the heart of benevolence and righteousness, and dive into the ancient prose of Zhou, Qin, Sheng, Tang and Song. " During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, all the essays have been searched up and down, and their works have reached the realm of reason, rhetoric and qi. This theory and practice are instructive to all literary creation. Tang Xianzu, Xu Hongzu, Wu Cheng'en and Cao Xueqin all took part in the imperial examinations. We can't say that when they wrote The Peony Pavilion, Xu Xiake's Travels, The Journey to the West and A Dream of Red Mansions, they didn't benefit from the experienced eight-part essay at all. Wu wrote in the eleventh chapter of The Scholars: "Eight-part essay is well done. No matter what you want to do, you must write poems to it. This is a whip and a scar, a slap in the face and a palm of blood." Indeed, if the author is not from the old camp, how can he write such a penetrating work? Zhu Guangqian also had this experience. From the eight-part essay, he saw the author's "ingenuity" (see the article "How to learn Chinese from me").
Third, the eight-part essay provides a model for future generations. Liu Zhiji's Story of the Stone is the essence of the article: "Make a word without repetition." Eight-part essay has reached its limit in this respect. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, there were strict restrictions on the number of words in stereotyped writing, which made people have to use limited words to explain the meaning of the article. According to legend, Zhu Yuanzhang, the Ming emperor, once accepted the memorial of Confucianism. After reading it for a long time, he didn't get to the point either. He hated it so much that he even wanted to put a scepter on him. Mao Zedong also proposed in "Opposing stereotyped Party writing" that "we should study how to write short articles". Stereotyped experience is really a panacea for long and empty articles. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, long articles were extremely rare; Even lyrical narration is exquisite. It is no accident that "essays" flourished in the Ming Dynasty.
Thirdly, stereotyped writing contributed to the maturity and development of some later styles, such as couplets. According to legend, Meng Chang's Spring Festival couplets in the Five Dynasties are just one of the five-character modern poems. The maturity of couplets is after the appearance of eight-part essay. Its couplets with different lengths and sentence patterns create a couplet system. So stereotyped writing prevailed in Ming and Qing dynasties, and couplets also made great progress. Especially in the Qing dynasty, it was even more gloomy and colorful, and many famous works were produced. Like Zeng Guofan and Zuo, although they are engaged in politics and military affairs in the afternoon, they are still veterans of China Wheel. Moreover, the so-called "poetry clock" in the Qing Dynasty originated from its name, so I won't say it here.
The reason why stereotyped writing was subjected to such a long and universal crusade was mainly due to the propaganda of Confucianism, Confucianism and Neo-Confucianism, as well as the accumulated disadvantages and grievances caused by the long history of imperial examinations. The former has the color of the times, regardless of it; As far as the latter is concerned, turning to history, what kind of examination methods are not a lot of problems in the future? Gu's "Records of the Day Wencheng" said: "In the Tang Dynasty, the literati fu was the most redundant. In the Song Dynasty, the disadvantages of selecting scholars and discussing policies were no less than others. Scholars in the Ming Dynasty took righteousness, which was unwritten, more than the previous generation. " Just like today's college entrance examination, isn't it shrouded in the shadow of history? It can be seen that stereotyped writing in the imperial examination is a common problem in the examination, not a problem it brings from the mother's stomach.
(Selected Essays of Eight-part Writing in Ming and Qing Dynasties) Selected Notes by Jiang Yuelu Bookstore will be published soon) Agree with 9| Comments