As a scholar, Liu Xizai's academic contributions involve Confucian classics, literature and art, article study, linguistics, pedagogy and even mathematics, the most important of which is his incisive exposition of literary creation, literary theory and criticism, and the history of literary development in Art Outline and Covenant of Entertainment. Liu Xizai's literary thought is mainly manifested in the following six aspects:
First, "Poetry is the unity of heaven and man"
Liu Xizai summarized the essence of beauty and art as "Poetry is the harmony between man and nature".
He said: "Heaven only takes the human heart as the heart, and people should only take the heavenly heart as the heart." (Zhi Zhi Yan Shu Heaven and Earth) He also said: "The latitude of poetry contains the fog of God." As the saying goes: "The poet is the heart of heaven and earth." Confucius said in the article:' Poets are also human nature. It can be seen that poetry is the unity of heaven and man. "("Poetry ")
This "heaven" is the natural thing in the universe and the unity of Tao (reason) and Qi. This "person" is the human heart with rationality and sensibility as one. Liu Xizai said that "poetry is the unity of man and nature" is actually the combination of "the heart of heaven", "the heart of man" and rationality. In a word, poetry is the crystallization of the unity of man and nature, and the product of the unity of reason and reason.
The essence of beauty and art ("poetry") is the fusion of "the heart of heaven" and "the heart of man"; Then, the process of aesthetic creation (poetry creation), that is, the process of "harmony between man and nature" or "harmony between man and nature", is to embody "the heart of nature" through "the heart of man" and "the heart of nature".
Poetry is like this, so is book (law). Liu Xizai said on books: "Books should be made of nature. Cai Zhonglang said that' books are nature', and this is a natural thing, but it has not yet reached heaven. " (Outline of Books) From the root of the art of writing calligraphy, it should be said that it is "confined to nature" and "determined by nature and man"; But judging from the initiative of aesthetic creation, it should be said that it is "creating nature" and "taking back the sky from people". As a "second nature", artistic beauty cannot be found in primitive nature, because it is permeated with human factors and is the positive result of human aesthetic activities.
"Poetry is the unity of heaven and man", or poetry is the combination of "the heart of heaven" and "the heart of man", that is, beauty and art as aesthetic objects are the dialectical unity of aesthetic objects and aesthetic subjects, which is the core of Liu Xizai's literary aesthetic thought.
Second, "the shape of the artist's way"
How do works of art do their best? Do it with artistic image. It is of great significance to put forward the proposition of "the shape of the artist's way" at the beginning of the book Introduction to Art. If "Poetry is the unity of man and nature" is Liu Xizai's hint to the essence of literature and art, then "the shape of the artist's Tao" is Liu Xizai's revelation to the relationship between art (literature) and Tao (quality).
Liu Xizai said: "Artists have the shape of pottery. It is good for scholars to master the six arts. Secondly, each article has its own name and category, all of which are about art, that is, rooted in Tao. " (Introduction to Art)
The "Tao" here is "meaning", which is also the "sage's purpose" advocated by the Six Classics. "Art" refers to "six arts" and "genre"; "Form" means "image", that is, artistic image. First of all, "Tao" is the essence of "art"; Art is used to embody Tao, and Tao must be rooted in Tao. Secondly, "art" is the shape of "Tao". Emphasize the importance of the beauty of content, but also pay attention to the independence of form, and don't ignore or exclude the beauty of form. Third, "form" is the harmonious unity of "Tao" and "art". "Form" is the internal Tao, while "form" is the external art, and "quality and writing are not biased".
3. "You don't need to write more poems, but your courage is true." "The highest quality article is the true color."
In terms of literary and artistic creation, Liu Xizai repeatedly stressed: "Poetry does not need to be written much, but it is sincere and valuable." (One of Two Poems by Yang Yi) "Poetry cannot be written for several years, and it must be untrue." Otherwise, it is "moaning without illness" ("Outline of Poetry") and "playing with things" ("Outline of Poetry")
Liuxiza former residence
Liuxiza former residence
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This kind of thought is manifested in literary appreciation, that is, whether the artist expresses his true feelings in his creation, and it is the standard to measure the quality of his works. Therefore, he reminded people to "know the fun and listen to the reason" (Poetry).
Starting from the fact that words should be "true" and words should be "from the heart", Liu Xizai further believes that "the article with the highest quality is the true color." If seeking sincerity is Liu Xizai's requirement for artists themselves, then emphasizing true colors is Liu Xizai's requirement for works of art ... He said: "A white book is the most understandable article, but it is just true colors." (Wen Jian)
Liu Xizai's "true color" is not the original state of things, but "extremely refined as not refined, excellent but true color, and people know its nature" (A Brief Introduction to Ci and Qu). Moreover, this artistic realm is obtained after being tempered by the "furnace hammer" in the artist's chest. "It is not a compulsory mixture of gold, silver, copper and iron." "The article is natural", so it can be "skillfully obtained" by "tempering the power of the past" (The Outline of Poetry).
It is based on the idea of "true colors" as beauty that he highly praised Xin Jiaxuan's ci "Heroes speak with true colors" (about the re-creation of ci) and Zheng Xie's calligraphy and painting "only write innocence" (people in Wen Wei County, Langtaosha praised Mr. Zheng Banqiao's legacy and wrote sentimentality). He also said: "People are still their true colors, and so are poems, paintings and calligraphy. Taibai's phrase "clear water produces hibiscus, natural carving" makes me happy every time I read it. " (The Covenant of Entertainment)
(About the artistic conception of poetry. As far as the aesthetic style of artistic conception is concerned, Liu Xizai said: Flowers and birds are lingering, clouds and thunder are contending, strings and springs are in harmony, and the snow and moon are empty and bright, and there are no poems here. The so-called "lingering flowers and birds" refers to a bright and bright beauty; "Cloud-thunder effort" refers to a kind of warm and lofty beauty; The suffocating string spring is a kind of sad beauty; "Snow and clear moon" is a kind of peaceful and quiet beauty. These four are the expressions of artistic conception beauty in China's lyric literature, and any one of them, if well written, can produce excellent works. Generally speaking, there should be no distinction between high and low styles. Of course, personal appreciation is allowed to have preferences. )
Four, "nothing is nothing" and "nothing is nothing"
Liu Xizai's talk about literature and art is always full of the brilliance of dialectics. The most typical thought he put forward is the unity of "nothing is nothing" and "nothing is nothing".
First of all, in Guoyu, Liu Xizai developed the ideas of "Yi Jing is miscellaneous, so it is called Wen" and "Nothing", emphasizing the opposition between Yin and Yang. For example, Biography of Yi in the Outline of Literature: "There are many differences, so it is called literature." Mandarin:' There is nothing in it.' Xu Kai's "General Theory of Shuowen": "Strong and weak complement each other, and both rigidity and softness are combined, so it is a literati's article." Zhu's Quotations: "When two things are treated relatively, there is a text. If they leave, there will be no text messages. What is the reason for a writer to think about writing? "Zuo Zhuan:' Words without words are not far away'." Every time, later generations don't understand why it is called "no text", but also use "biography" as a note. Said,' There's nothing in it. "
At the same time, Liu Xizai developed the idea of "losing one's virginity" in the Book of Changes, put forward a brand-new proposition that "everything has no words" and pointed out the unity in the opposition of Yin and Yang. He said: "Mandarin says' there is nothing', and future generations should know that everything has nothing. Gai Yi is the real massacre of the text, and there must be one of them. You can also use your husband. " (Outline of Literature) also said: "The Book of Changes says that' things are mixed, so it is called literature', while' things are nothing' in Guoyu. It can be seen that Wen Ruo must be right for the object, but it must be right for the owner. " (Overview of Jing Yi)
It should be noted that the "one" in "nothing" refers to a single "one" and the "one" in "nothing" refers to the whole "one". "Nothing is nothing" means that there should be "miscellaneous" in "unity" and "opposition" in "unity", and "literature" should be a complex of different factors. "Everything has no origin" means that there must be "combination" in "miscellaneous" and "combination" in "opposition", and many "differences" must be combined according to the law of beauty in order to form the "origin" of beauty. The art of beauty is both "heterogeneous" and "comprehensive", and it is the harmonious unity of "heterogeneous" and "comprehensive". Any good work of art should be the harmonious unity of "diversity" and "unity", which is another aesthetic principle summarized by Liu Xizai.
Five, "the way of writing, time is big"
When Liu Xizai inspected the history of literary development, he pointed out: "The greatness of literature and Taoism is also great." The writing style of a generation and the calligraphy style of a generation are always associated with the style of a generation, with people's aesthetic taste, ethical concepts and fashion of the times. The works of art in different eras are always the reflection of their respective spirit of the times. Art changes with the development of the times, which is the law of art development.
Based on this idea, Liu Xizai emphasized that artistic creation should be "all-encompassing" and "all-encompassing". He said: "If it is changed, it will become a world character. If it is closed, it will be changed, but the change of grammar will be known. " ("Wen Jian") "eclecticism" means "communication", that is, inheriting the past and using it; "Sweeping everything" means "changing", that is, developing and becoming ancient. On the relationship between the two, Liu Xizai emphasized the combination of the two, while focusing on "change". "Han eight generations decline, solid integration of eight generations. Cover only those who make good use of the ancient, can become ancient and all-encompassing, so they are omnipotent. " (Wen Jian)
Sixth, "Poetry comes from character"
Liu Xizai attached great importance to the artist's subjective accomplishment and thought: "Poetry comes from character." Writing a poem requires not only superb artistic accomplishment, but also noble personality accomplishment.
About "character". In The Outline of Poetry, Liu Xizai quoted Qu Yuan's words in The Songs of Chu Buju, and divided his personality into three types: simple and honest, aloof and noble, and rich from vulgarity. The so-called "honest man" refers to the character of living in the temple and worrying about the people, living in the rivers and lakes and worrying about the king; "Being aloof and holding high, and punishing the cultivators" refers to the character of not despising the powerful, being content with poverty and being naturally aloof; And "sending Lao Lai, from vulgarity to wealth" is the arrogant and hypocritical ambition of greedy villains.
As for "poetic nature", Liu Xizai is sometimes called "poetic nature" because the objects of discussion are different. He quoted Chen Liang's "Trilogy, July 26th Birthday" in the Outline of Ci and Qu, and described three words: Fate Character, Proud and Abrupt, Beautiful and Graceful. Liu Xizai's ci can be divided into three categories according to the expression of temperament. The temperament in Ci, such as Su Shi and Xin Qiji, is the "most affectionate person", that is, "the character of Yuan" and "the highest person"; Sometimes it is the second-class word that embodies the temperament of "gentle", that is, "towering and abrupt" and "still wonderful figure"; As for "beauty", it is "falling into flattery", which is the temperament of favoritism.
In Liu Xizai's view, since "poetry is the unity of heaven and man" and poetry is the fusion of justice and poet's temperament, it is logical to talk about the quality of poetry from the poet's character.
Liu Xizai also emphasized the unity of "book quality" and "character" in his book. Liu Xizai said: "A reader should also learn from his heart"; "Writer, writing ambition also"; "A book is like a book, like its knowledge, like its talent, like its ambition. In short, just like a person "("Book Outline "). Therefore, Liu Xizai further put forward the requirement of "rational emotion". He said: "The ink feeling of the pen is based on human temperament, so the reason is the beginning of the book." (Outline of the Book)
Liu Xizai's proposition that "poetry is based on character" is of positive significance for urging artists to pay attention to inner cultivation, pursue personality perfection, urge critics to know people and discuss the world, and grasp the object of criticism more comprehensively and accurately.
The earliest article devoted to Liu Xizai's academic thought that we can see today is Liu Xizai on the Eight Masters of Tang and Song Dynasties by Xu Beichen (Morning News)1July 23, 935), followed by Xia Jingguan's A Summary of Liu Xizai's Poems (the same period 194 1 year16555).
In the early 1960s, a number of papers on Liu Xizai's literary aesthetics were published in domestic academic journals. There are mainly Huang's comments on Liu Xizai's Introduction to Art (Journal of Sun Yat-sen University 1962No. 1 issue), Foxiao's Preliminary Study on Liu Xizai's Aesthetic Thought (Journal 1962 No.3) and Qiu's On Liu Xizai's Ci (academic).
In recent 20 years, scholars in Chinese mainland and Taiwan Province have published many monographs and articles on Liu Xizai and his academic thoughts, and commented on his works. As a famous scholar in modern China, Liu Xizai has attracted more and more attention from overseas scholars. For example, Japanese scholars Yoshida Yoshimura and Kimura Takayama translated and annotated the Outline of Books, which was included in the eighth volume of Illustrated Calligraphy. Kagawa Tieya is the author of Liu Xizai People and Books-A Review of Entertainment Customs.
Liu Xizai, a scholar who goes down in history!