"Portrait of Du Fu"
Era: Song Dynasty Author: Wang Anshi
I look at Shaoling's poems for the sake of vitality.
Strength can surpass the heaven and earth, and beauty and perseverance are indescribable.
In the vast world, life is not dense.
There are thousands of ugly beauties in different sizes, but it is hard to see how to carve them.
It’s a pity that fate is so poor that there is no end in sight.
The old man in green shirt even scolded him and left half of Kyushu hungry.
The thin wife stands in front of her son and her servants stand behind her, fighting with thieves and spears.
Yin oh, at this time, the imperial court will not be worried.
I always wish the emperor to be holy and all ministers to be happy.
I would rather let my house be broken down and freeze to death than suffer the cold weather all over the world.
The wounded people mourned and bowed down, lamenting that the people who died were ashamed.
So when you see the public statue, you will bow to Si Liu again.
The public spirit is rare in ancient times, and one is willing to follow the public even to death.
This is a seven ancient poem, with five or seven intertwined words, sonorous verses, majestic momentum, and passion flowing like a river, unstoppable. The whole poem gives a high evaluation and warm praise to Du Shi and Du Fu's spirit of patriotism and concern for the people, and their humane feelings of respecting themselves and others. There are 26 sentences in the whole poem, which can be interpreted in six levels.
The first level is the first four sentences, which praise Shaoling's poems as equal to the vitality of heaven and earth, and have the power to conquer heaven and earth. They also say that the "magnificent appearance and perseverance" of Du Fu's portrait cannot be obtained from outside sources. The original meaning of Yuan Qi refers to the mixed energy before heaven and earth were separated. This mixed Qi, the clear and light ones rise to the sky, while the turbid and heavy ones sink to the earth. As Wen Tianxiang said in "Song of Righteousness": "The heaven and earth have righteousness, which is mixed and endowed with manifolds. Below are the rivers and mountains, and above are the sun and stars." Yuanqi also refers to the human spirit and the origin of vitality. By extension, it also refers to the vitality of a country or organization. Shaoling's poems are full of uprightness and righteousness. Sun Yu, a scholar of the Song Dynasty, said in "Reading the Preface to Du Gongbu's Poetry Collection": "The ancient writer, the true essence of heaven and earth... is flying across the sky, no doubt has no end, the surface is dry, the inside is Kun, and the deep is hidden. It is not a husband. There are five spirits in the belly, all the phenomena in the heart, the gods and the underworld, but it has not yet been obtained... It is what the master (referring to Du Fu) did, the sun and the moon, the opening and closing of thunder and lightning... the so-called true pure qi "The man in the middle." This kind of true energy can turn the world upside down. The strong and perseverance revealed in Du Fu's portrait, as well as the expression on his face, are the epitome of the poet's temperament.
The first four sentences stand out suddenly, juxtaposing Shaoling's poems with the vitality of heaven and earth, and showing the chaotic universe of Du's poems, with its thousands and thousands of shapes gathering together.
Second level: In the vast world, creatures are not dense. There are thousands of ugly beauties in different sizes, but you can’t even see how to carve them out. Heaven and earth create all things, whether they are ugly or beautiful, big or small. There are thousands of shapes and shapes, all different, but you can’t see the carving hand of creation, only the work of transformation and education, which is a metaphor for Du Fu’s extraordinary creative talent. This layer is inherited from the previous level and further sublimates Du’s poems. Thousands of Du’s poems, rich in rivers and lakes, wonderful ideas and wonderful sentences, are like entering the cave of a mountain. They are overwhelmed, but there is no trace of chiseling or carving at all. . Just as Han Yu said in "Inscribed on the Tomb of Du Gongbu": "Only the Ministry of Industry is called the United States, and the poets of that day have no analogy. The pen pursues the breeze and washes away the common ears, and the heart seizes the good fortune and returns to Yangchun." The pen pursues the breeze, the heart seizes the good fortune, and the pen is full of meaning. Although there are thousands of gods, they are not all the same.
The third level: It’s a pity that life is so poor, and there is no end in sight. The old man in green shirt even scolded him and left half of Jiuzhou hungry. The thin wife stood in front of her, her son and her servants behind, fighting with thieves and spears.
This level of poetry is full of ups and downs. It's a pity that the poet was poor, but in ancient times the world was upside down. Those who were speculators were prosperous, while those who were talented were much poorer. During Du Fu's life, although he was a member of Zuo Shiyi and a member of the School Inspectorate and the Ministry of Industry, his official position was low. Wearing a green shirt, the old man was expelled and wandered around Qinzhou, Tonggu, Chengdu, Zizhou, Langzhou, Yun'an, Kuizhou, Gong'an, Changsha, Yueyang, and walked half of China hungry, many of whom were poor. Sickness, "Hungry borrows rice from every family, sorrow brings cups everywhere" ("Jingnan in Autumn: Thirty Rhymes of Pregnancy"), "Bitterness shakes the tail in begging for food, long exposes the gills to repay kindness" (ibid.). The skinny wife lies in bed, the hungry son is sick, thieves swarm, wars continue, and the world is in chaos. The poet suddenly feels that "in the universe, there is no place to stay".
The ancients said: "Poetry must be poor before craftsmanship". This may be Du Fu's fate. Who told you to "read thousands of volumes and write like a god"? Who told you to "write poems about Yang Xiong's enemies, and write poems about children to establish marriage" ("Twenty-two Rhymes Presented to Wei Zuocheng")?
Fourth level: Yin oh, at this time, the imperial court will not be worried. I always wish the emperor to be holy and all ministers to be happy. The four sentences praise Du Fu for writing poems to express his feelings of sorrow and anger when he was poor and embarrassed. He was worried about the court, the country, and the people. He hoped that the emperor would be wise and his ministers would be like Yi Yin, the wise prime minister who assisted Shang Tang, and Zhou Gongdan, the wise prime minister who assisted King Cheng of Zhou Dynasty. They would be wise and virtuous, and their ministers would work together to restore the scene of the Zhenguan and Kaiyuan periods. Du Fu expressed this desire many times in his poems, "There is a wise and wise king above, and there are virtuous ministers below" ("Residence of Xue Sanlang"). Du Fu in the Tang Dynasty could not transcend the limitations of history. Throughout his life, wise kings and wise ministers did not appear. He could only die in poverty and illness, lamenting that "the way back has been lost since then, and I shed tears all over the banks of the Xiangjiang River" ("Escape").
Fifth floor: I would rather let my house be broken down and freeze to death than live in the cold. . I am ashamed of the people who mourned in Shangtun (zhun).
Reciting these four lines of a long song, the first two lines have as many as nine characters, praising the great personality shown by Du Fu in "The Song of Thatched Cottage Broken by the Autumn Wind": I would rather my cottage be broken alone than bear the suffering of all the innocent people in the world. cold. This is a song and cry from the heart, which moved poor people of ancient and modern times to tears. The last two sentences say that Du Fu was sad about his ill-fated fate and his ambitions. And it ends with one person, not blaming others or others. In Du's poems, he laments how humble he is when he is old. He laments when he is sad, because he is poor, old and sick, and cannot return home due to the chaos in the world, and his younger brothers and sisters are separated and separated. But more importantly, he laments the frequent wars in the country. The people were homeless and dying and deeply worried. "There are thousands of cities in the world, but there is not a city without armored soldiers." The rebel generals caused chaos, the people suffered, and the farmland was abandoned. Du Fu shouted, "How can I cast armor to make agricultural tools, and cattle can plow an inch of barren land?" Even when the oxen plowed the land, silkworms also grew; the martyrs who did not work shed tears, and the men and women walked in the valley and sang again." (The above quote is from "A Walk in the Silkworm Valley". Wang Anshi couldn't help but sigh, Du Fu's spirit of "worrying about the country and the people but not himself" Character is what his contemporaries lack. He feels ashamed of those who only care about themselves and do not care about the country, let alone the suffering of the people! At this point, the poet Wang Anshi's emotion and anger reached its peak.
Sixth level: So when I see the painting (image) of the public, I bow down to Si Liu again. The desire to promote the public is rare in ancient times, and I am willing to follow him until his death.
The last paragraph is a continuation of the previous poem. , corresponds to the beginning, and points out the title. Facing Du Fu's portrait, he bowed to the ground again, burst into tears, and deduced that there were few people who were as generous and benevolent as Du Fu in ancient times. He hoped that Du Fu could come back to life. I would like to study devoutly with the poet. I will end this article by expressing my deep admiration for Du Fu.
Wang Anshi (1021-1086) was a politician, reformer and great writer in the Northern Song Dynasty. His early works were deeply influenced by Du Fu's realism. He cared about the people and deeply hated the current situation. He deeply admired Du Fu and loved Du Fu's poems. The origin of his poems is unknown, and he is unable to learn it." He also said, "Taibai's poems are so grand and elegant that no one can match them, but his style only stops here and cannot be changed. . As for Zimei, he is sad and happy, his hair is restrained and restrained, his movements are fast and horizontal, and he can do anything. Therefore, some of his poems are plain and simple, some are beautiful and precise, some are serious and majestic, and some are as fast and sudden as a leader. There are those who ride horses, some who are as indifferent and simple as a hermit in the valley, and some who are romantic and rich as a noble gentleman. Gai Gong's poems are dense and thoughtful, and the viewer can't understand its secrets, how can it be difficult for him to understand its beauty? Those who are close can see it! This beauty eclipses the predecessors and has no successor."
This is Wang Anshi's general impression and evaluation of Du's poems. Du's poems are magnificent, just like Cao Cao's "Viewing". "The Canghai" says: "The sun and the moon are as if they are out of it; the stars are as brilliant as if they are out of it." His breadth and depth are unparalleled by few; it is not an exaggeration to say that his light has eclipsed those of his predecessors; it is enough to say that there is no successor to it, and it is enough to this day. Proof. In the face of Du Fu's portrait, he sings and expresses his passion, which can be corroborated with Wang Anshi's words about Du.
Wang Anshi's poem reveals a sense of injustice. This is not unrelated to his life experience of being dismissed from office twice and unable to realize his ambitions for reform.
Ouyang Xiu, the leader of the literary world in the Northern Song Dynasty, also wrote a poem "The Portrait in the Hall Explores Du Zimei", which is recorded below. For readers' reference:
I have been lonely for a long time, and I want to see him. Who can compare to the greatness of Du Jun's poems? Scholars are not ashamed to be humble and poor.