Cao Cao's poems, contrary to the tendency of scholars' poems to emphasize form over content for hundreds of years in the Han Dynasty, can truly achieve "taking emotion as latitude and text as quality", which meets the requirements of the unity of literature and quality. This can be explained from the following aspects:
(1) Cao Cao clearly expressed his philosophical thoughts in his poems. Such as "Jing Lie": "The pottery made by birth has an end. ..... Zhou Gu fall, will take the grave. Who can live in Tao Tao? A gentleman worries about his troubles. " It means that since ancient times, everything created by nature has a process from occurrence, development to extinction. The same is true of people, life must die. With the successive deaths of the saints Duke Zhou and Confucius, Yu's burial place in Huiji became a piece of Pó u @ (1) loess. In that case, who can go beyond this rule? Therefore, the wise don't worry about life and death. In Duguan Mountain, Cao Cao emphasized the role of man and said, "Between heaven and earth, man is precious." Cao Cao wrote in "Out of the Summer Gate": "The period of surplus and contraction is not limited to days; The blessing that nourishes grace can last forever. " People believe that life and death are not all decided by God. As long as people pay attention to their physical and mental health and remain optimistic, they can also live longer. Obviously, these are the thoughts of simple dialectics and simple materialism expressed in the language of poetry.
(2) Cao Cao fully embodies his political views in his poems. For example, he described a peaceful and prosperous time with strict decrees, prosperous production and "the people do not dispute", which reflected his political ideas. His social plan of "cultivating for three years and storing for nine years, and producing grain in Man Cang" was partially realized at that time.
(3) Cao Cao truly described real life and created many poems with the spirit of the times. For example, Lu Xing and Hao were all called "the Book of the Later Han Dynasty" by later poetry critics Zhong Xing and others, which played the role of a generation of "poetry history".
The above explanation: the aesthetic value of Cao Cao's poems is first linked with his advanced philosophical thoughts, political opinions and profound social contents. Many of Cao Cao's beautiful poems are integrated into the aesthetic experience of that era, helping people to pursue truth, goodness and beauty in history. We can't judge the real Cao Cao in history according to the ugly Cao Cao image in The Romance of Three Kingdoms, just as we shouldn't deny the successful Cao Cao image in The Romance of Three Kingdoms with the real Cao Cao in history. Of course, the real Cao Cao in history also had mistakes and even reactionary side, such as suppressing the Yellow turban insurrectionary uprising, killing Kong Rong, Yang Xiu and other dissident intellectuals, and playing politics. However, his contribution to unifying northern China, developing production and stabilizing society should not be denied. His outstanding achievements in poetry aesthetic activities should also be paid attention to.
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Cao Cao's poems are worthy of being a masterpiece of Jian 'an style. Although the so-called "style of character" has various explanations, it does not deny that it refers to a simple, vigorous, fresh and clear artistic style with rich content and strong appeal. As far as aesthetic category is concerned, it belongs to a rigid sublime beauty, or magnificent beauty.
Out of Xiamen was written on the way of Cao Cao's northern expedition to Wuhuan in 2007. Like other Cao Cao's poems, it is "writing current affairs through ancient Yuefu" (5). Although it is written between the army and the horse, it has far-reaching thoughts and strong brushwork. At the beginning of Yan, a group poem with a prelude, Cao Cao expressed his lofty sentiments and set a generous and radical tone for the whole poem.
"Watching the Sea" is the first poem in a series, which has always been regarded as the pioneering work of China's landscape poems. It shows that people in that era have regarded nature as an aesthetic object, and their aesthetic consciousness has been greatly enriched. But the excellence of this poem does not stop there. What's more commendable is that Cao Cao combined the aesthetic object and aesthetic subject in this poem, and expressed his ambition to unify the motherland by describing the magnificent scenery of the sea devouring the sun, the moon and the stars. In Cao Cao's pen, the scenery is full of vitality. Shen Deqian said that Cao Cao's poems were "overbearing" [6], which had some truth. The so-called "domineering" refers to Cao Cao's ambition to dominate the world. You see: the sea is rough and the island stands tall; The trees are lush and the grass is green. How majestic and energetic the mountains and rivers of the motherland look! In the bleak autumn wind, the waves are rough, and each wave is higher than the other. What a tenacious fighting spirit this is! "The trip to the sun and the moon, if unexpected; Xinghan is brilliant, if it is unexpected. " These four sentences are even more magnificent, imagining great wonders. As Shen Deqian said: "The weather in the universe is throughput." (7) Lu Xun put it well: Cao Cao "is courageous and the article is quite effective. When making a fuss, he has no scruples and writes whatever he wants. " In that case, writing poetry is the same. It is admirable that Cao Cao dared to express his political ambitions in his poems and did not hide his views.
The last song "Although the Tortoise is Born" is a masterpiece handed down from generation to generation. It shows Cao Cao's high fighting spirit of being optimistic and enterprising in politics. Although Cao Cao realized that birth, illness and death were irresistible natural laws; But at the same time, he believes that people's subjective initiative is still great when the objective laws allow it. "The old horse crouches tiger, aiming at a thousand miles; These four sentences, "Martyrs in their twilight years, March forward bravely", vividly express the dialectical thought that life is limited and ambition is endless. The whole poem is straightforward and true. It uses simple language to form a "vigorous" poem. No wonder "Shi Shuo Xin Yu" records that Wang Dun of the Eastern Jin Dynasty sang these four sentences every time he was drunk, and he couldn't help clapping his hands in admiration, even knocking out the spittoon.
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When commenting on Cao Cao's poems, predecessors emphasized its simplicity. During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, it was not surprising that Cao Cao's poems were not paid due attention to because they advocated lovers and glitz. However, even Zhong Rong, who has a unique eye and claims to attach importance to the "natural English purpose", relegated Cao Cao's poems to the second level in "Poetry", which can't help but make future generations feel that it is an eternal regret.
Lu Xun made an accurate and comprehensive aesthetic judgment on Cao Cao's poems. He said in the relationship between Wei and Jin demeanor and articles and medicinal liquor: "After Dong Zhuo, Cao Cao was authoritarian. Under his rule, the first characteristic is that he is still punished. His legislation is very strict ... Therefore, it affects the article and becomes a sober style-that is, the article should be concise and rigorous. " Cao Cao dared to put aside cliches and get rid of elegant bad habits, as Lu Xun pointed out: "advocating communication detachment" and "being the founder of reform articles". This is appropriate in prose or poetry. Give one or two examples in the next interview:
Cao Cao's Lu Lu Xing and Good Li Xing both use elegies to describe current events. It completely got rid of the old shackles of Yuefu and directly reflected the broad social life in the turbulent period at the end of Han Dynasty. With a simple and vivid description, it effectively accused the warlords of all kinds of evil consequences. Fang Shudong commented on Lu Luxing in Zhao Wei Zhan Yan, saying: "This poem is heroic, straightforward, cadenced and bold." Comment on Hao said: "It's really simple, broad and ambitious." For example, Howe Li Xing: "A louse kills ten thousand people. Bones are exposed in the wild, and there is no cock crow for thousands of miles. " What a simple and shocking tragic picture it is! "There are hundreds of people born, and reading is broken!" Then the inevitable sigh is drawn from the picture. At this point, the poet no longer needs to spend pen and ink, and people's desire for the stability and reunification of the motherland is fully revealed. How simple, ancient and straight it is, how real and vivid it is!
A Journey to Bitter Cold is about Cao Cao's March when he conquered Gao Qian, Yuan Shao's figurehead in the spring of 2006. How deep the whole poem is written layer by layer through bedding. Starting with the difficulty of the road and the desolation of the valley; At the same time, there are wild animals and snow. No wonder the poet wants to "stretch his neck and sigh" and feel "depressed". In the second half, I further wrote that the bridge was broken and lost my way at dusk. People were hungry and horses were hungry, and there was nowhere to stay. Under such difficult circumstances, Cao Cao's army did not retreat. On the contrary, it also "lost the bag and the axe was frozen" to overcome the difficulties and move on. The desolate scenery depicted in the poem just reflects the poet's heroic mood. Readers can clearly touch the poet's resolute and fiery heart through some bitter words in the poem. Fang Shudong's "Zhao Wei Zhan Yan" says that it is "depressed and straightforward, ... looking for its mood, everyone understands; Playing with its gesture grammar is meaningful. " What he called "simplicity" was "simplicity in ancient times".
To sum up, it can be seen that the simplicity and frankness of Cao Cao's poems are actually a superb artistic technique. Wang Shizhen in the Ming Dynasty said that Cao Zhi was a man with both talents and looks. Although he was famous throughout the ages, he was not as good as his father. Why? Just because Cao Zhi's poems are too gorgeous, he lacks the simplicity in his father's works.
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In Cao Cao's poems, feelings and scenes are constantly changing, and you can often feel unrestrained in sadness; Space and time are constantly changing, which often gives people a sense of grandeur and distance. Cao Cao is good at expressing his aesthetic reverie by using virtual reality, giving up more and taking less, seeing the big from the small, and turning static into dynamic. For example, the well-known "drinking and composing songs is short" uses many means in line with artistic dialectics to express the poet's longing for the sages.
"When drinking songs, life geometry! For example, morning dew is much more difficult to go to Japan. Be generous, and your troubles will be unforgettable. How to solve your worries? Only Du Kang. " At first, the poet was excited by the scenery in front of him, expressing reality with emptiness and lamenting the shortness of life and the passage of time. Poetry has changed from writing about scenery to writing about feelings, from describing space to reviewing time. On the surface, it seems that Cao Cao put forward an extremely negative theme in his poems, which was even quoted by many pessimists in later generations. In fact, the opposite is true: the whole poem is full of high emotions and contains ideas that should be worked hard in time. It pours out impassioned heart music through the form of micro-singing and low-singing. Wei Yuan said: "When singing to wine, there is a storm." [13] Chen Ling's poem Bi Xing Jianzhong pointed out: "The purpose of this poem is to think about the brave in the Dafeng Pavilion in Gao Han." Liu Bangsi, Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty, believed that the brave should guard the four directions, while Cao Cao wanted to rule the world. Their ideological tone is really very similar.
"Qingqing leisurely from jumping in my heart. But for your sake, I've thought it over. A herd of deer, yo, ate mugwort in Ye Yuan. I have a guest, blowing sheng. "Six of the eight poems are quoted from The Book of Songs. The contrast between the past and the present can't help but make people think for thousands of years. "Qingqing" writes colors and "Yo Yo" writes sounds. Poetry is rich in color and vivid, so it is much more lively. On the surface, Cao Cao's words are only two sentences: "But I have thought about it for you", but he uses the ancient times to satirize the present, citing more examples than others, with endless connections, clearly revealing deep affection.
"It seems like a month, when can I wait? The troubles come from this and cannot be cut off. The weirder, the more useless. Talk about Yan @ 4 and miss the old grace. " The word "drop out" is "drop out", and I agree that it is "drop out". Here, the poet fantasizes about the sky: when can the bright moon be picked? Later, Li Bai's poem "Want to Embrace the Bright Moon in the Blue Sky" should be born from this. These two sentences are really wonderful! In addition to expressing the poet's sincere desire to "climb the nine-day bright moon", it is also a means of comparison, which implies rich meanings such as when to get talent and when to realize the ideal. Poets are not worried about seeking talents, but also happy to see the arrival of talents. This ambivalence of worrying about one happiness, worrying about one happiness and worrying about one happiness perfectly expresses the theme of the wise man's thirst.
"The moon and the stars are thin, and the black magpie flies south and circles the tree three times. What branch can we rely on? The mountains are not tired of heights, the sea is not tired of depths, the Duke of Zhou vomits food, and the world returns to the heart. " The poet melted into this scene, and suddenly felt lonely because he looked up and saw that the moon and stars were scarce. Then, turn static into dynamic, and use the black magpie flying south to compare the brain drain. The poet pities talented people and yearns for them to be his own. Finally, taking "the mountain is not too high, the sea is not too deep" as an example, and taking "Duke Zhou vomits food" as a model, it shows his unremitting persistence in seeking talents.
This "short song line" has far-reaching implications and unique style. It combines lyric, scenery description, narration and reasoning in one furnace, which can warm each other and add luster. The whole rhyme is very powerful. Rhyme or eight sentences change, or four sentences change, both swaying and strewn at random. It can really give people endless aesthetic enjoyment.
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After all, Cao Cao is a politician and writer of the landlord class. Due to the limitation of class and times, he has many ideas contrary to the people. His ambition and desire can only be to consolidate the dictatorship of the landlord class. He can't really express the feelings of working people, so in his poems, people can only appear as victims. His ideal, his aesthetic concept, together with his happiness and sadness, are deeply branded with the mark of feudal rulers, which obviously contains his selfish intention of "making contributions" and "establishing a career". In his works (especially in his later years), sometimes it is inevitable to reveal some sighs about the impermanence of life and the fantasy of seeking eternal life through nothingness.
Cao Cao's poems can't be perfect in art, just as there can't be no fallacies in thought.
Cao Cao's aesthetic standards undoubtedly put politics first. Because of this, he sometimes gave up his pursuit of art in order to explain the political needs. For example, short lines (2) and good lines (3) of songs all have a conceptual tendency of blind reasoning. This not only reduces the artistic level of poetry, but also damages the social effect of poetry. How do some philosophical poems, such as those that confuse people, give readers aesthetic interest?