Questioning Perry, an American poetry critic

Perry, an American poetry critic, once said: Poetry is dancing in chains. Since this statement was introduced to China, many people really regard poetic rhyme as a shackle, afraid of abandoning it, and dislike it, thinking that it is a feudal ethical code and a scourge. In fact, this fallacy has far-reaching influence and endless perniciousness, which is leading China's new poetry into an increasingly dangerous road.

The meter of China's poetry is not a fetter imposed by the outside world. In the long years before the Book of Songs, the ancestors made many attempts, explorations and twists and turns in labor practice before they got the rhythm and rhythm, and summed up the law as a model of poetry, constantly imitating and developing until it matured. Five or six thousand years ago, there were obvious traces in the ancient Heyang folk songs in Zhangjiagang.

Metric system is not an external "shackle" at all, but once it is called "shackle", it is seriously opposed and there is no sense of unity and harmony. This paranoia is also the root of all human disasters and hell, not only in the field of poetry. Americans are still emphasizing the clash of civilizations, and their mentality is hard to change.

There is a saying in Buddhism: "There is nothing outside the heart". This heart connects the phases, and so does the fate. There can be no shackles. A good work of art is to make beauty and spirit realize a vivid form of seeing, hearing and touching without showing traces. This form is "the same color, the same sex", there is no external bondage, and there is no external so-called new bottle and old bottle. This form is the wine itself.

"the army has no constant potential, but the water is impermanent", and the form and realm of poetry are unchanged. The most important thing is to adapt to people, local conditions and time, emphasizing that there is no fixed law. Like Zen Buddhism, you not only pursue the great determination of the Tathagata, but also show the lively real life.

The mechanization and stylization of poetry will inevitably have shortcomings, but blindly pursuing extreme freedom will inevitably indulge absurdity. It is easy for the world to learn from Jigong, but it is really difficult to have his great wisdom, which is the best existence for Jigong.

Poetry should be "follow one's inclinations without overstepping the rules", "the unity of mind and matter" and "the nature of Taoism" (the nature with rules to follow). It's ok to go back to the wild for a while, but turn back as soon as possible. I always suspected that Haizi was exhausted. He realized that heaven and earth are the biggest cages, and they can't be completely integrated. Lying on the tracks is only the last need. His cemetery is very good: facing the sea, spring blossoms.