Before Mr. Lan's novel came out, the source of the image of "lilac" mentioned in the comments of Rain Lane was generally from the Preface to Dai Wangshu's Poems (published by Sichuan People's Publishing House, 198 1), which was said by Mr. Bian. Rain Lane seems to be an expansion or dilution of the famous sentence "Lilacs are sad in the rain and empty" in the modern vernacular version. For example, Mao Han's examination paper "Classification and Appreciation of China's New Poetry in the 20th Century" (published by Guangdong Education Press,1998,270 pages) and Zhu Shoutong's "China Modernist Literature History" (published by Jiangsu Education Press,1998,505 pages) all hold this view. However, Mr. Bian thinks that the images and words in Rain Lane ... make the success of this poem more simple and vague, which is rarely recognized by post-scholars. On the contrary, Mr. Zhu Shoutong believes that "Dai Wangshu borrowed these images and realms, transcended their original connotations ... and integrated the traditional images of the East with the modern poems of the West, which brilliantly expressed the pain of pursuing ideals and disillusionment hidden in the souls of modern intellectuals."
As can be seen from the above, the origin of "lilac" is the source of ambiguity in Mr. Lan's argument and previous comments. Previous comments thought that the image of "lilac" in Rain Lane originated from Jing Li's Huanxisha, and that "the bluebird doesn't spread the news outside the cloud, and the lilac is sad in the rain", so I read more about the "sadness" and "melancholy" conveyed in Rain Lane, while Mr. Lan thought that the "lilac" in Rain Lane originated from the Waste Land.
I think both of these statements are reasonable, but they are also biased. Because all of them are "poems outside the poem", rather than logical conclusions drawn from the text itself. Speculation from the creative background and image source can be used as evidence to interpret the text, but it cannot replace the detailed interpretation of the text. Since the publication of Rain Lane, there are different opinions on its interpretation. Aside from the simplistic political criticism of Rain Lane, its theme has always been controversial: Mr. Wang Ganda included it in the "Love Volume" of the Classified Collection of Modern Famous Poetry in China edited by him, and Mr. Mao Han included it in the "Appreciation Volume of New Poetry in China in the 20th Century". But we can't simply ignore this or that, as long as it is meaningful and not divorced from the text, it is acceptable. However, the conclusion that is completely divorced from the text and allowed to be imagined by oneself can only be regarded as an image outside the image. In other words, the image behind it has its value, but it is not produced by the previous image, so it is not appropriate to interpret it as the meaning in the title.
Therefore, I think that overemphasizing and clinging to the origin of "clove" and "rain" is not conducive to our understanding of "Rain Lane". The poet may have read one or two of Huanxisha and The Waste Land, but I think it really doesn't matter. The image of "clove" has accumulated for thousands of years in the history of Chinese and foreign literature, and its meaning is constantly changing and enriching. There is a certain connection between the post-uprising and the original meaning, but the more it develops later, the more sparse and even illegible this connection will become. Not only is there a difference between Li Shangyin's Lilacs and Li Jing's Lilacs, but Eliot's "April is the cruelest month, feeding lilacs, mixing memories and desires in a dead land, stirring withered roots and buds in a spring rain", and the image of "Lilacs" in the novel is different from that in China's classical poems. Because the image of "lilac" in China's classical poems has changed, but it basically refers to "lilac flower", that is, "lilac knot". The "lilac" in foreign poems may refer to "lilac tree" or "lilac flower", and the "lilac" in foreign poems rarely expresses the meaning of "sadness" in China's poems. As a creative poet, Dai Wangshu is unlikely to simply expand or downplay Jing Li's Huanxisha or Eliot's The Waste Land in the modern vernacular. On this point, Mr. Sun also expressed similar opinions. In the article "Random Talk on Rain Lane" (Appreciation of Famous WorksNo. 1 issue, 1982), he said: "Can it be said that the artistic conception and image of Rain Lane are the expansion and dilution of the famous sentence" Lilacs are sad in the rain "in the modern vernacular version? I thought I couldn't see it that way. When the poet conceived the artistic conception and image of the rain lane, he not only absorbed the juice of his predecessors, but also created his own. " Mr. Sun's argument is very reasonable.
What should attract our attention even more is that Mr. Sun pointed out in the article "Random Talk on Rain Lane" that the image of "lilac" in classical poetry was creatively transformed into "a girl as sad as lilac" in Rain Lane, which is naturally a powerful query to Mr. Lan Dizhi's new viewpoint. In fact, I think the girl in Rain Lane is a bit like the Iraqi in the Book of Songs. The "girl" in Rain Lane is as "missing" as the "Iraqi" in Jia Jian. There are many poems in China's ancient poems that express this state of mind. For example, "Poetry of Jiang Tu" says: "Chinese people are wandering, so it is inconceivable. The Hanshui River is so vast that it is impossible to cross it. Jiang Zhiyong, don't think about it. " The three sighs of "can't" also mean "can't count on it" Another example is the "Far Altair Star" in Nineteen Ancient Poems: ... The river is clear and shallow, with many differences, and there is no language in the water. It also shows the mentality of "I can only understand, but I can't explain" and "I can't expect, but I can't get what I want". Dai Wangshu's expression of "distance frustration" (in the words of Mr. Qian Zhongshu) is slightly similar to that of his predecessors, but due to the influence of the times and the prominence of his unique personality, Rain Lane is "harmonious but different" from the above poems. Because Dai Wangshu only wants to "meet" the girl in the rain lane, which is different from the lyric hero in Jia Jian's Chasing Iraqis and Chasing Them. Therefore, Rain Lane is more of a "parody of sadness" poem, and less of an unswerving pursuit.
As for the "rain" in the poem, I think it is mainly to create that hazy artistic conception, which may be spring rain or autumn rain, which is "worrying". Mr. Lan mentioned "Spring Rain" because he first decided that Rain Lane must have originated from The Waste Land, so it was somewhat fruitless to prove that the "rain" in Rain Lane was "spring rain" with the "spring rain" in The Waste Land. "Rain" is neither a fixed finger nor a "rain lane". We only know that it is the place where the poet's worries are aroused and pinned. How can I know whether it is located in Jiangnan or Jiangbei? And I think it can give us more important enlightenment than this. Reading poetry should start with images, and don't stick to a specific image, let alone simply compare, so as not to damage the original intention of poetry by preconceived impressions.
Dai Wangshu said in On Poetry Zero Zagreb that "there is no need to take new things as the theme (I am not opposed to taking new things as the theme); You can also find new poems in old things. " At the same time, he said, "the application of old classicism is indisputable when it gives us a new mood." I don't think the image of "Lilac" in Rain Lane is completely helpless, but I prefer to believe that it is a vague image that Dai Wangshu infiltrated into his mind through reading a lot of domestic and foreign literary works for a long time. It may have the imprint of Huanxi sand or wasteland, but it has become Dai Wangshu's own "uniqueness". At a certain moment, a kind of poetry that excited his soul struck, and suddenly met the image of "Lilac", and further connected the image of a "girl" with the same color, fragrance and sadness as "Lilac", which fully expressed the poet's state of mind full of hope and disappointment, but "wandering everywhere". After the artistic conception of "dreamlike sadness and confusion" drifts through the reverberating melody and smooth rhythm, the poet's mood may be somewhat relieved? Because the poet did not give up his hope at the end of the poem, although this hope is still full of "sadness and melancholy."
Mr. Landy rebelled against the theory of "symbol of social ideal" which he had previously recognized, and put forward the theory of "cruel suggestion" again. These two theories are completely different on the surface, but in fact they are the same: both of them have made a comparative interpretation of Rain Lane. However, this is contrary to the influence of western symbolism poetry schools on Dai Wangshu. Because the characteristics of western symbolism poetry school are "opposing superficial lyricism and explicit preaching, advocating the unity of emotion and reason, and expressing the author's thoughts and complex and subtle feelings and feelings in a tortuous way through symbolic suggestion, image metaphor, free association and musicality of language" (Zhu, editor-in-chief of Foreign Literature History, published by Nankai University Press, 1994), we can see its expression techniques from the text of Rain Lane. It is "meaningful but unspeakable" and even more uncertain. Mr. Lan did violate his own taboo, and thus came to a conclusion that was not entirely convincing. We can say that Dai Wangshu accepted the influence of western symbolism, but I think it seems more appropriate to understand this influence as symbolism's poetic skills that focus on musicality and suggestibility, which provides him with a more acceptable frame of reference than China's traditional poetic skills, and should not be simply understood as his image transplantation of western symbolic poetry. In addition, he sublated symbolism and traditional poetic techniques. For example, in On Poetry, he said that "poetry should not rely on music, but should lack musical elements" and that "the rhythm of poetry lies not in the cadence of words, but in the cadence of poetry's emotions, that is, the degree of poetic sentiment." Rainy alley is the perfect expression of this theory. It not only won the back-and-forth melody, but also successfully surpassed the external musicality and touched more people's souls for a long time in the form of "isomorphism with life" (Susan Langer's language).
In my opinion, only by going beyond the viewpoint of focusing on Lilac and observing Rain Lane from the overall poetry can we try to understand its meaning and avoid a narrow and far-fetched understanding. And we don't need to delve into whether this is a love poem or a sentimental poem. Rain Lane is just a "raft crossing the river", and different readers ride it to different shores. I believe that more readers experience the poet's poetry in the music melody of "opening a new era for new poetry syllables" (in the words of Mr. Ye Shengtao), rather than knowing more. I don't know whether this statement is true or not, but I'd like to meet Mr. Lan and all the readers.