Reading and appreciating classical poetry has many advantages, which can not only improve the cultural level and increase the knowledge of literature and history, but also be a wonderful spiritual enjoyment, which can be influenced by art and help to get rid of vulgar tastes and cultivate noble and beautiful sentiments.
Marx once said: "If you want to enjoy art, you must be an artistic person." Just as you have to listen to music more if you want to appreciate music, you have to watch more paintings and sculptures if you want to appreciate art, and you have to watch more works from the shallow to the deep, so that you can gradually learn more, become more interested and have higher appreciation ability.
The first difficulty in reading classical poetry is that the language is difficult to understand. Difficult to understand is not complete ignorance, but some words are unfamiliar or not in modern Chinese, which leads to reading difficulties. There is a way to solve this problem, that is, look at the annotation books (selections) of contemporary people first, remember the contents of the annotations in general, read them repeatedly, accumulate a lot, and get familiar with the habits of poetic language, and the words will generally pass. Classical poetry often uses allusions, which is also a language barrier for ordinary readers. As for the use of allusions in poetry, some people have always said that it is good, while others have said that it is not good. Whether people agree or not, many allusions in poetry have become a fait accompli. In fact, the use of allusions does not determine the quality of a work. For example, Li Yu, the queen of the Southern Tang Dynasty, writes beautifully and fluently, which is generally the top grade between the lines. Xin Qiji's ci is often "published in books" (using allusions), which is also the top grade of ci and more valuable than Li Yu's ci. The question is whether the allusions are used correctly. If you are mystifying and stiffly piling up allusions, it is shallow and boring; Allusions naturally flow into the works and blend with the content of singing, which can expand the content, increase the rhyme outside the rhyme and the taste outside the taste, and improve the reader's interest. And look at Xin Qiji's Partridge Day, Goose Lake Return Sick;
Pillow [little] Xitang is cold, and it is late to collect clouds according to water. Red-violet snuggled up to each other like a drunk, and Bai Niao was speechless and worried. Books are enterprising, and taking a break, one mountain and one valley is also romantic. I don't know how weak my muscles are, but Chueh-hsin is too lazy to go upstairs.
Two allusions in words. Liu Yiqing's Shi Shuo Xin Yu was written by Shu 'an: Yin Hao felt wronged after he was dismissed from office in the Jin Dynasty, and wrote in the air with his hands all day. Someone secretly observed, and he only wrote four words: "Strange." Aggressive is an exclamation. "Let's take a break" is the biography of Sikong Tu in the new Tang Dynasty: In his later years, Sikong Tu abandoned his official position to escape political persecution, and lived in the Wangguan Valley of Zhongtiaoshan, where he built a pavilion called "Hugh". I explained to myself, "Hugh is beautiful, and both Hugh and beauty are beautiful." I don't think my talent, status, age and personality are suitable for being an official. Retirement is best. Xin Qiji was dismissed from office and lived in the countryside. He was not allowed to display his talents and ambitions, and his emotions were suppressed. So he used Yin Hao's allusions to express his grievances. I also used Si Kongtu's allusions to laugh at myself and comfort myself for the time being. It only takes six words to add so much content, and it is naturally not rough. To understand such allusions, the emergency way is to read other people's notes and consult the dictionary, and the fundamental way is to read as many historical and literary books as possible. Both methods have advantages, which can not only read poems, but also increase knowledge.
Poetry has its special expression, so we should pay special attention to it when we appreciate it. In ancient times, some people analyzed the connotation of poetry into three categories: material environment, scene and artistic conception. The so-called "physical environment" refers to the description of objective things. Generally speaking, the more vivid, vivid and vivid the description, the better. "Spring grass grows in the pond, and the willow blossoms bloom in another village" (Liu Song Xie Lingyun), who really wrote beautiful spring scenes in a false language, is praised by people. "... the night now gives way to the ocean of the sun, and the old year melts in the clear spring" (Tangwang Bay). The last sentence says that the water surface between the river and the sea is flat and wide, and the night has not retreated. The sun has emerged from the sea, and it broke early; The next sentence says that the old year is not over in Jiangnan area, and the breath of spring has sprouted in nature, and spring comes early. This is a poem written after painstaking thinking and tempering, which tells what people feel but can't say. It is also a wonderful sentence. Describing the physical environment is not based on truth and accuracy, because this is the realm that poets feel, and it is not the whole truth of objective things. For example, Li Bai said, "How does the water of the Yellow River move out of the sky?"; What you said is wrong; The Yellow River originated in Bayan Kara, Qinghai! It is not good to ask for poetry with scientific knowledge. Li Bai is not talking about geography, but writing poems, marveling at the magnificent scenery of the Yellow River. This is the so-called "poet's language".
The so-called "emotion" refers to emotional emotion, which is the soul of poetry. You can't write a good poem without strong feelings, but you can't write a good poem without excellent performance. The more vivid the physical environment is, the more subtle the situation will be. When we say "you can have a romantic life without saying a word" (Si Kongtu's poem), we are talking about the situation. Such as Li Bai's "resentment":
The beauty has been waiting for the bead curtain and has been sitting with tight eyebrows.
You can see the bright tears on her cheeks now, but you can't see the man she loves so much?
A sketch is crossed out of four poems: a young beauty in a bead curtain, sitting for a long time, frowning and gradually crying. What's her resentment? The poet didn't say a word for the reader to experience and imagine. Usually such poems are written by maids who have been imprisoned in the palace for a long time, and her anguish can be imagined. She may resent her parents for not marrying her, her lover for not marrying her as soon as possible, the official who dragged her into the palace, the emperor who snubbed her, and she is more likely to resent the ruthless fate ... In short, your imagination is reasonable. If a certain resentment is made clear in the poem, the realm is limited and the poetry is limited.
The so-called "artistic conception" refers to some ideas and truths expressed in poetry. Here is a song Du Mu's "Crossing Huaqing Palace":
Looking back at Chang 'an, Mount Li is like a pile of splendid scenery, and the gates of Huaqing Palace on the top of the mountain are opened in turn.
As soon as I rode on the smile of smoke and smoke, no one knew that the fresh fruit litchi was sent from the south.
This is a side of lamenting the luxurious life of Tang Xuanzong and Yang Guifei in Li Mountain Huaqing Palace. Yang Guifei likes to eat litchi, but Chang 'an doesn't produce litchi, so she can only ship it from Sichuan. In order to keep fresh, people ride horses one stop at a time to deliver goods day and night, which wastes people and money, and often kills them. It was precisely because the rulers were extravagant, the internal affairs were not repaired, and the Anshi rebellion occurred, and the Tang Dynasty almost perished. Du Mu's poems express ridicule and negation, and also remind future generations to learn historical lessons. They are intentionally hidden, but readers can understand them. This is a good poem. In other cases, some poets are willing to express their thoughts directly, but Shi's "Litchi Sigh" is about Yang Guifei's praise of litchi, which says, "I hope God has mercy on this child, and nothing will make her sore." It is also a good poem for people to read, such as a reasonable exposition that rain is good for gold and people are not hungry and cold. Of course, this discussion must be integrated with the description of the image, and all empty discussions will not become poems.
In order to be familiar with and master the expressive techniques of classical poetry, it is necessary to browse some books on the basis of reading a certain number of poems, such as Yan Yu's Cang Lang Shi Hua, Yuan Mei's Suiyuan Shi Hua, Wang Guowei's Human Shi Hua and so on. This kind of books have comments on the styles, genres, artistic means and works of poets in past dynasties. The views in these books are different and not all correct, but the authors are experts in this field and often have incisive opinions to enlighten people.
How to truly understand a poem? There is no absolute standard in practice. The ancients said that "poetry can't be expressed", originally referring to the Book of Songs. Because the Book of Songs has been circulated for too long, there are different interpretations and no absolute authoritative explanation. Later, because many poems often use metaphors, analogies, symbols, allegories and other means, the meaning is not as certain as Ding Mao or Mao, so all poems use this sentence. Because of different experiences, ways of thinking, values and artistic tastes, it is common for readers to have different understandings of the same poem. On such an issue, it is impossible to seek unity, and there is no need to seek unity. In order to have a deeper understanding of poetry, we should read carefully, we should chew olives and taste them again and again. It is often said that "read it a thousand times, and its meaning is self-evident", which is especially suitable for poetry.
In order to learn and appreciate poetry, it is necessary to recite some good poems. Like a cow eating grass, it is swallowed into the rumen first, then moved into the clean stomach, and then chewed in the mouth when it is free. Good poetry tastes endless when chewed. Some physiologists say that reciting poems and songs can enhance memory and prevent memory degradation. If so, then kill two birds with one stone. Why not?