As the most outstanding representative of modernist poets in 1930s, Bian left a deeper impression in his masterpiece Broken Chapters than the two "landscape watchers". Who is looking at who, what they are looking at, and what they think after seeing someone or something. Many people like to treat this poem as a philosophical poem and then interpret it repeatedly. Yu Guangzhong said that this poem is "an intriguing philosophical masterpiece". But I prefer to simply regard this poem as a love poem. It's not that I disapprove of how others can explain a poem clearly, but that they can show a poem naked to other readers, which conforms to modern aesthetic standards. The famous philosopher Hegel once lamented that art would eventually give way to philosophy, and now society has fulfilled this great man's prediction. But my favorite poems are those that can still leave some beautiful imagination after endless explanations. Bian's broken chapters are like this, and so are his fish fossils. As it happens, I prefer to understand these two poems of Bian as two love poems. Of course, that was just my wishful thinking.
As a modernist poet, how did Bian express his love in his poems? The way he adopted was modern poetry and classical feelings. After a group of theorists and poets strongly advocated vernacular poetry in the 1920s, China's modern new poetry has begun to take shape and basically occupied the leading position in the poetry circle. But in the 1930s, the poets themselves gradually realized that this kind of modern new poetry was too vernacular, ignoring the defects of the rhythm (melody) of poetry, so they returned to the traditional poetry and searched again. It was in this tension of innovation and return that these poets created a big peak of new poetry. This return to tradition should begin with the "Crescent Poetry School". The metrical movement proposed by crescent poets and the "three beauties" created by Wen Yiduo are all concrete manifestations of seeking nutrition from traditional resources. Bian, who made his debut as a "crescent school" poet, was closely related to some poets of the later crescent school and was naturally influenced by the opinions of the crescent school, but his artistic achievements surpassed those of the crescent school, and he had his own unique artistic sensitivity. He himself said that when he wrote vernacular poems, he paid the most attention to Europeanization and archaization of poems or Europeanization and archaization. He studied modern western poets as well as ancient China poets, including Baudelaire, Wei Erlun, Eliot, Ye Zhi and Rilke in the west and Jiang Baishi, Li Shangyin and Wen in China. Therefore, whether it is the choice of image, the expression of artistic conception or the pursuit of poetry, we can easily find the deep connection between his poetry and the mainstream of China traditional poetry.
Let's look at Broken Chapters first. The whole poem is as follows:
You watch the scenery on the bridge,
The landscape observer is watching you upstairs.
The bright moon decorated your window,
You decorated other people's dreams.
The whole poem has only four sentences. Bian Zhilin himself said that his poems "are not big in specifications, but I like elutriation and refining, expecting crystallization and sublimation." It is precisely because of excellent conciseness that poetry has made a great leap. In the quiet moonlight, it gives readers a sense of movement. But there is only one dream here. The combination of dynamic and static, the combination of reality and reality, the reader's heart is moved, and the two protagonists are also moved.
"You" stand on the bridge and watch the scenery. You can see God, but you don't know that there is another person watching you upstairs. Bridge, water, "bright moon", the reflection of the bright moon, silvery white ripples caused by slow water flow, "you" are fascinated, and your heart sinks into the flowing water of the bridge and flows slowly to the distance. What are you thinking about? In short, you forget everything around you. There is a man watching you upstairs. He was impressed by the beauty of the bright moon and came to the window to enjoy the beautiful moonlight, but suddenly he was attracted by a beautiful figure. He looks at you affectionately, pays attention to your every expression and your every move, so you are all fascinated. Maybe you are neighbors at all. Your window is not far from his window, and the bright moon falls into your window. Does he dream in another window at night? Will the hero in the dream be "you"?
What a beautiful picture this is! I find it difficult for ordinary painters to draw such a good picture. China paid attention to "painting in poetry and poetry in painting" in ancient poetry, but as Bian in 1930s, she interpreted this classical tradition so subtly. The whole picture is perfect, harmonious and beautiful. The two protagonists savor it in silence, and so do the readers.
Look at the choice of some images in this poem. "Bridge", there is a bridge with its own water, a trickle and a "landscape". You can imagine what the elements of this night scene are: girls, people, lights, pedestrians ... all of which carry a vast "bright moon". These have become the scenery in your eyes, but "you" has quietly become a more beautiful "scenery" in the eyes of others. These images are common in classical poetry. The combination of these artistic conceptions is smooth and harmonious, forming a picture of enjoying the moon with full classical charm.
But are these two just enjoying the moon? Do you feel lonely in the moonlight? Otherwise, why is only the bright moon decorating your window, and that "he"? No? Or have you already left? When he saw you upstairs, did he have a whimsical heart? How much he longed for "you" to enter his dream. But is it really possible? Even if "you" entered his dream, it was just a "dream". The beauty of "dream" and the regret of "dream" reveal a touch of sadness in these short four lines. In a beautiful picture, people often have some kind of impulse, and after the impulse, they are always helpless. This kind of regret is faint, which conforms to the classical aesthetic standard of "mourning without hurting"
Let's take a look at his Fish Fossils. The whole poem is as follows:
(A fish or a woman says)
I want the shape of your arm,
I tend to dissolve in the waterline.
You really love me like a mirror.
You and I are far apart, but we have fish fossils.
We generally think that Bian's poems are the transformation from "main emotion" to "main wisdom", and he and Fei Ming are the best "new wisdom poems" in the 1930s. But Bian said in the preface of Chronicle of Insect Carving: "People are not wooden stones, but people who write poems can be said to be emotional animals." . I write poetry. I always write lyrics. I always tend to restrain myself when I can't control myself, as if I meant to be a' cold-blooded animal'. "It seems that the author is more willing to regard his poem as a lyric poem. As for the intellectualization tendency of his poems, it can be regarded as a rebellion against the tragic generalization caused by the excessive lyricism of some poets in the past. It can be said that he is another kind of lyricism, a restrained lyricism, just like roland barthes's "zero-degree writing". At first glance, the language of the work seems to have no objective words with the author's feelings, but after these words are combined, it is obvious that without the author's feelings, it is impossible to express the author's position, ideas and the expression of these ideas.
I wonder if Bian's poems have a prototype of his own life. Bian 1933 graduated from the English Department of Peking University in the summer, and met him in the Chinese Department of Peking University in the same summer. Bian has been here, relatives. Unfortunately, Zhang Chonghe later went to the United States with her American husband, and Bian also got married on 1955 1 October1. In Bian's poems, "you", "I" and "he" are all relative, giving people a broader imagination. Out of context, some people regard "you on the bridge" as a man and "the man upstairs" as a woman. I'd rather watch it. In Fossil Fish, the author indicated from the beginning that it was a fish or a woman, and I prefer to regard "I" as a man, which goes against the author's creative intention, but can we say that the author's explanation is just to cover himself up?
The first sentence in the poem is "my" desire for love. Concrete love, turning into a "hug", is a warm and romantic imagination. The second sentence says that I am often "a thread dissolved in water". I think this poem is more suitable for understanding that as a man, "I" often falls in love with "you" as gentle as water. Next, "I" don't know if you love me as much as I love you. This is both a confession and an inquiry. "I" was full of hope in a burst of doubt. The last sentence, "You and I are far away", you and I have no hope, you are you, I am me, and the future is irrelevant. But being a "fish fossil" means that "fish is not the original fish and stone is not the original stone", and you and I have changed each other. Fish fossils are not the best combination of fish and stones. When fish are imprisoned in stones, they are completely different from each other and do not blend. From the choice of images, does the contrast between "fish" and "stone" contain a kind of affection and indifference? From this perspective, this poem seems to be a poem of resentment, a poem of resentment against "men". Mr. Bian is a man, but he has a woman's heart.
Although I understand the two poems as love poems, they have different emphases on Europeanization and modernization. If Broken Chapters is more inspired by classical poetry, then Fish Fossil absorbs more foreign modern poetry resources. Shi Zhecun divides the pursuit of modernity in poetry into two aspects: the modern (feeling) emotion of modern life and the modern poetic line determined by modern words (language). Under these "modern lines of poetry", Bian successfully conveyed "modern feelings": the coldness of the world, the inequality of giving and receiving, the instability of love, "things are different" and helplessness after failure. ...
People have always agreed that poetry is a text that should not be over-interpreted, but people have been trying to interpret poetry and try to reach the poet's inner world. The poet's inner world is rich, unique and enlightening. Don't over-interpret poetry, it is difficult to grasp its dimension. But I think that when people are too involved in the "spiritual" world of poetry, they may find another way to reach the poet's spiritual world through perceptual thinking.