Stepping out of Xiamenxing
Cao Cao
Facing Jieshi in the east to view the sea.
Where is the water? The mountains and islands are standing tall.
There are many trees and lush grass.
The autumn wind is bleak and the waves are rising.
The movement of the sun and the moon would appear within it;
The stars would shine brightly, as if they would appear within it.
Fortunately, I sing to express my ambition.
Appreciation
"Stepping out of Xiamen", also known as "Longxi Journey", belongs to the ancient Yuefu "Xiangru Ge? Se Tune". "Xiamen" was originally the city gate at the west end of the north of Luoyang. It was called Xiamen in the Han Dynasty and Daxiamen in the Wei and Jin Dynasties. There are only two sentences from the ancient sayings: "The city and the dynasty are changed, and the tombs of a thousand years old are leveled" (see Li Shan's note in "Selected Works"). "Yuefu Poetry Collection" also contains an ancient poem "The Evil Path Passes Through the Empty House", which describes the story of ascending to immortality and attaining the Tao. This chapter of Cao Cao's "Song Book Music Records" is included in "Daqu" and is titled "Jieshi Steps Out of Xiamen Xing". Judging from the content of the poem, it has nothing to do with the meaning of the title. It can be seen that it is just a reference to ancient inscriptions to describe current events. The poem begins with the word "Yan" (prelude), and is divided into four interpretations (chapters): "Viewing the Sea", "October in Winter", "Different Soils", and "The Turtle Lives Longevity".
It should be considered that in the twelfth year of Jian'an (207), he was on his way back to the army after winning the northern expedition to Wuhuan. In the last years of Lehan, when warlords were vying for power in the Central Plains, the Wuhuan people living in the western Liaoning area became powerful. They went south to attack cities and plunder territory, becoming a serious border trouble in Hebei area. In the tenth year of Jian'an (205), Cao Cao destroyed the foundation of Yuan Shao's rule in Hebei. Yuan Shao vomited blood and died. His sons Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang fled to Wuhuan and colluded with Wuhuan nobles to invade the fortress many times and cause harm. At that time, Cao Cao was in a disadvantageous situation of being squeezed between the north and the south: Liu Biao and Liu Bei were entrenched in Jingxiang in the south, and the Yuan brothers and Wuhuan were in the north. In order to get rid of the passive situation, Cao Cao adopted the advice of counselor Guo Jia and led the northern expedition in the summer of the twelfth year of Jian'an. The expedition lasted from May to the end of May. In autumn and July, there was a flood and the road near the sea was blocked. Later, he accepted Tian Chou's suggestion and resolutely changed the route. Passing through Xu Wushan, exiting Lulong Fortress and heading straight towards Liucheng, they won the battle. In September, he returned to the army victoriously and passed through Jieshi and other places. He borrowed the old title of Yuefu's "Stepping out of Xiamen Xing" and wrote this famous poem.
The poem describes the customs and scenery in the Heshuo area, expresses personal ambitions, and reflects the poet's ambitious and dominating heroic spirit. As for Cao Cao's eastward march to Jieshi, it was mostly thought that it happened when he was marching north to Wuhuan. In fact, this view is inconsistent with historical facts and is unbelievable. We used the records in "Three Kingdoms", "Wudi Ji" and "Tian Chou Biography" to verify that Cao Cao boarded Jieshi on his way back from the northern expedition to Wuhuan. Because there was a flood when he went, the road near the sea was blocked, so he had to change his route. Take the Xu Wushan path to Liaoxi. "In September, Gongyin returned from Liucheng, and on the eleventh day he arrived at Yishui." He should have "visited the Jieshi" and "viewed the sea" in September or early October of this year (207). As for where Jieshi Mountain is located today, there is still controversy in academic circles. Some people think that the mountain has sunk into the sea in Laoting County, Hebei Province today, or it is Jieshi Mountain in the north of Changli County, Hebei Province today. In any case, when Cao Cao ascended, it should be a higher rocky mountain near the sea.
"To the east is the Jieshi to view the sea. Where is the water, the mountains and islands are standing there", the first two sentences point out the location of "viewing the sea": the poet climbed to the top of the Jieshi, facing the sea from a high position, with a broad field of vision , with a panoramic view of the magnificent scenery of the sea. The following ten descriptions are roughly expanded from this. "Where the water is, the mountains and islands are standing tall" is the general impression I get when looking at the sea, a bit like the thick lines of a painting. "Dandan" describes the vastness of the sea; "he" refers to how beautiful it is. Today's word "how" is a word of admiration. "Dan Dan" adds sighing beauty, and you can imagine the vastness of the sea. In this "turbulent" sea, the first thing that catches the eye is the abrupt and towering mountain islands. They are dotted on the flat sea, making the sea look magical and spectacular. These two sentences describe the general outline of the sea view, which will be described in depth below.
"The trees are thick and the grass is luxuriant. The autumn wind is bleak and the flood waves are rising." The first two sentences specifically describe the mountain island of Changzhi: Although the autumn wind is bleak and the grass and trees are falling, the island is lush with trees. , the grass is rich and abundant, giving people a sense of vitality. The last two sentences are a further description of the sentence "How is the water so calm": If you look carefully, you will see that the sea surface in the bleak autumn wind is actually a huge wave, turbulent and ups and downs. Although it is a typical autumn environment here, there is no trace of desolate and sad autumn mood. In the history of Chinese literature, due to various reasons such as the writer's world view and situation, since Song Yu's "Nine Bian" was the forerunner of the sad autumn literature, how many poets shed tears in the autumn wind and were moved by the scene when they saw fallen leaves! However, Cao Cao was able to face the bleak autumn wind and describe the vastness and magnificence of the sea: in the bleak autumn wind, the sea was surging and vast, reaching the sky; the mountain islands were towering and straight, with lush vegetation, without any sentimental sentiment. This new realm and new style reflect his "martyr" mind of "an old man who is still in trouble but aims for a thousand miles".
"The journey of the sun and the moon can be seen from within; the stars are shining brightly from within." The previous description is observed from the level of the sea, and these four sentences are connected with the boundless universe. He opens his pen as much as he can, and puts the momentum and power of the sea in front of readers: the vast sea is connected with the sky, and the sky is blurred; in front of this majestic and magnificent sea, the sun, moon, stars, and the Milky Way are all They appear insignificant, and their movements seem to be freely absorbed by the sea.
The sea described by the poet here is not only the real scene in front of him, but also integrated with his own imagination and exaggeration, showing a majestic atmosphere that swallows the universe, and has the potential of "five mountains rising into a square inch". This kind of "covering the atmosphere" is the artistic realm formed by the blending of the scenery in the poet's eyes and the emotions in his heart.
(See the comments of Volume 7 of "Return of Ancient Poems") Speaking from the heart, if the poet does not have grand political aspirations, does not have the ambition to make achievements, and does not have the optimistic attitude of being full of confidence in the future, then it is no matter what It is impossible to write such a magnificent poem. In the past, some people said that Cao Cao's poems were "always domineering" (Shen De's subtext), referring to works such as "Guan Cang Hai". "Domineering" is of course a sarcastic comment, but if "domestic" is understood as the ambition to unify China, then this kind of artistic appreciation is still advisable. "Fortunately, I sing to express my ambition." This is a cliché used when joining music. It has nothing to do with the content of the poem, so there is no need to elaborate.
In the poem "Viewing the Sea", literally, the sea water, mountains and islands, grass and trees, autumn wind, and even the sun, moon and stars are all the sights in front of you. Such poems that purely describe natural scenery are very important in the history of Chinese literature. , Cao Cao seems to have never had it before. It not only describes the scenery throughout the text, but also has a unique style. It can be called the earliest masterpiece of Chinese landscape poetry and is especially loved by literary historians. It is worth pointing out that when the objective natural scenery is reflected in the poet's mind, it must go through the poet's subjective filtering - understanding, integration, selection and emphasis, and then form an artistic product. This kind of product is not only a reflection of the objective world, but also the condensation of the poet's subjective spirit. This poem about the sea in autumn can wash away the sentimental mood of autumn, and write it in a majestic and majestic way. This poem is closely related to Cao Cao's magnanimity, character and even aesthetic taste. Therefore, even if it is purely a description of scenery, do. Because the work, even if it is purely a description of the scene, cannot be a purely objective photographic production.
In addition, there are more than twenty poems by Cao Cao that exist. Although they all use old Yuefu titles, the content is completely new. Shen Deqian pointed out: "The use of ancient Yuefu to write about current affairs began with Duke Cao." (Volume 5 of "The Source of Ancient Poetry") This is also a bold breakthrough in the history of Chinese literature. This new style, which attaches great importance to reflecting real life and is not bound by old songs and ancient lyrics, has greatly promoted the development of the spirit of realism in Chinese literature. Cao Cao's achievements are worthy of recognition and praise.