Appreciation of Chinese Literature
Yuan Xingpei
A Taste
Literature is the art of language, and literary appreciation cannot be separated from the chewing of language and playful. Understanding is the first step, but simply understanding is not enough. You must be able to appreciate the ingenuity and beauty of language. There is a Chinese idiom called "biting words and chewing words", which seems to have a bit of a derogatory meaning. However, literary appreciation cannot help but learn to "bite words". Yuan Yishan's "Essays and Poems with Dr. Zhang Zhongjie" says: "Articles must be written word for word, and they must be read word for word. There is a lingering flavor after chewing, and a hundred faults are not enough." This is the experience of literary appreciation.
You can use dictionaries and dictionaries to read literary works. However, dictionaries and dictionaries only explain the meaning of words and cannot tell readers their taste. The general annotations only note the meanings and allusions of words. The charm hidden deep in the language and the color attached to the words may not be able to be obtained with the help of reference books and annotations. This can only be understood gradually through extensive reading and repeated pondering.
For example, "白日", the dictionary notes "sun". But people who are familiar with classical poetry will feel that this word uses "white" to describe "sun", which seems to emphasize the brightness of "sun"; Zuo Si said: "The bright sky makes the sun shine, and the spiritual scenery shines in China." Bao Zhao said: "Bai" When the sun is at its peak, the world is full of light. ""Bai Ri" is "sun", but after the poet repeatedly used it, it has a radiant atmosphere. Wang Zhihuan's "Ascend the Magpie Tower" begins with "The sun is shining over the mountains." Although it is written about the setting sun, the use of the word "white sun" still gives people a brilliant and brilliant feeling.
Another example is "Eastern Fence". Tao Yuanming's poem "Drinking" has "Picking chrysanthemums under the Eastern Fence, leisurely seeing Nanshan Mountain". There is a fence on the east side of the Tao family's yard, with chrysanthemums planted underneath. This is an ordinary Tian family scene. However, because Tao Yuanming was a famous hermit, chrysanthemum almost became his incarnation, so even "Dongli" also had the meaning of being far away from the world.
Let's look at Du Fu's "The Year of Li Gui in the South of the Yangtze River":
It is common in Prince Qi's house, and I heard it several times in front of Cui Jiutang. that was nice scenery at Jiang Nan, met you again in autumn.
The four words "Falling Flowers Season" not only point out the season, but also allude to the experiences of Li Guinian and himself, and also allude to the situation of the Tang Dynasty. It is implicit and can be played with.
"The Analects of Confucius·Yongye" said: "Bo Niu was sick. When the Master asked about it, he held his hand from the fat and said: 'It is his fate to perish! This man has such a disease!' People also have diseases like this!" People have diseases like this. Repeating the word "Si" fully conveys Confucius' cherishing and sorrowful mood.
"Shishuo Xinyu" records the speeches and behaviors of famous people very vividly. For example, in the chapter "Literature", the four words "I have not made progress" are very expressive, especially the word "Le", which is thought-provoking.
Zhi Daolin came out from the east at the beginning and lived in Dong'an Temple. Wang Changshi's history is very detailed, and he also writes about his talents and comments, which are not quite appropriate. Wang Xuzhi wrote hundreds of words, claiming to be a famous scholar. Zhi Xuxu said: "I have been separated from you for many years, but you have not made any progress despite your righteous words." Wang Da retreated in shame.
There are also some words in novels and operas that are worth pondering. In the forty-fourth chapter of "A Dream of Red Mansions", Jia's mother scolded Jia Lang: "You are a dirty thing. You drank yellow soup. You didn't say that you should keep your body straight and beat your wife instead." "Yellow soup" means "yellow wine", but the word "yellow soup" is used. "Field" often has a derogatory connotation. For example, Chapter 14 of "Shuiji": "Beast! You didn't come straight to see me, but drank this yellow soup on the way. I can't eat it with you at home, it's an insult to kill people!" No. 1 of Yuan Zaju "Cinnabar Dan" Zheyou: "I ate a few more bowls of yellow soup so that I couldn't catch up with him." I drank when I shouldn't have, and got into trouble after drinking. At this time, I didn't use "yellow wine" but "yellow soup". It was a different kind of fun. .
"A gourd without a mouth" is a metaphor for a person who doesn't talk much. The metaphor of gourd reminds people of a simple and honest look, and coupled with the word "mouthless", the impression becomes even stronger. Chapter 78 of "Dream of Red Mansions": "Xi Ren has been silent since he was a child. I just call him a gourd with no mouth. Since you know it well, how can you make a big mistake?" Chapter 38 of "Journey to the West" : "He is just a mouthless gourd, and he will roll with you." The second part of the Yuan opera "Butterfly Dream": "How can you falter when you are covered in mouth, just like a mouthless gourd." Compare these examples with each other, I find it more interesting.
Another example is the seventh chapter of "A Dream of Red Mansions", when Qin Zhong, Qin Keqing's younger brother, met Baoyu for the first time, and Sister Feng was also present. When Qin Zhong bowed to Sister Feng and said hello, "Sister Feng happily pushed Baoyu first and said with a smile: 'The competition is over!' Then she leaned over and took the child's hand, and ordered him to sit next to him." In this paragraph, " "Compared" are extremely expressive words. In addition to showing that Sister Feng likes Qin Zhong, it can also be seen that Sister Feng loves Baoyu. Sister Feng always thought that others were inferior to Baoyu, and often compared others with Baowu. In the past, no one could compare with him, but now Qin Zhong "compared" Baoyu as soon as he came. The image of a shrewd woman immediately appears in front of the reader.
The third chapter of "Water Margin" writes about Lu Tiha's punching to suppress Guanxi: "After hearing this, Lu Da jumped up, took the two bags of kidneys in his hands, opened his eyes and looked at Zheng Tu and said "Sa Jia Te wants to amuse you!" He hit the two bags of glutinous rice with each other, but it seemed like a "rain of meat". Jin Sheng sighed and said: "It's a strange article through the ages." Said: "The word 'meat rain' is a descriptive word that has never been used in humane terms." Yuan Wuya commented: "The word 'meat rain' is vulgar and classic, reckless and interesting, and it has the roots of fist raindrops.
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Literature is the art of language, and the function of language is very wonderful. However, the expressive power of language is limited. Even language masters often encounter the troubles of language expression. Chinese writers are deeply aware of the Knowing the truth that "words cannot express the meaning", we pay special attention to the illuminating and suggestive nature of language, express those subtle meanings beyond words, and pursue the effect of exhaustive words and infinite meanings. To appreciate Chinese literature, we must start with language. , but don’t be limited by language, you should go from the inside of the words to the outside of the words, and taste the taste of the words.
The second artistic conception
The artistic conception is the integration of the writer’s subjective feelings and objective objects. The imaginary world formed is enough for readers to immerse themselves in. Various literary genres such as poems, poems, poems, poems, novels, prose, and parallel prose, as well as art types such as painting and music, can create artistic conception. It is the unique characteristic of Chinese literature and art.
The formation of artistic conception depends on the blending of the writer's subjective feelings and objective objects. Emotion, the harmony of things and myself. Sometimes the artistic conception reaches a clear and clear stage very quickly, and sometimes it needs to be deepened and developed based on the initial state. "Mansou Poetry" says: Two sentences from Du Fu's "Qujiang Wine". The original poem was "The peach blossoms are chasing the poplar flowers, and the yellow birds are flying at the same time." Later, it was changed to "The peach blossoms are chasing the poplar flowers, and the yellow birds are flying at the same time." Three words were changed, and the artistic conception was changed. Not the same. This poem was written by Du Fu when he was in Chang'an in the first year of his reign. He had both fantasies and disappointments about Su Zong. After sitting by the river for a long time, a feeling of loneliness and boredom came over him. "***Yanghua Yu", which is more imaginative and has a lively artistic conception, is inconsistent with the mood at this time. It was changed to "Peach Blossoms Chasing the Falling Yanghua", which is more realistic and has a quiet artistic conception, which just reflects the boredom of sitting for a long time.
There are too many bright and enlightening artistic conceptions in the poem. "(Tao Yuanming's "Written in the twelfth month of the Guimao year and respect my younger brother") "The solitary smoke is straight in the desert, and the sun is setting over the long river. "(Wang Wei's "Envoy to the Fortress") "The river flows beyond the sky and the earth, and the mountains are beautiful. "(Wang Wei's "Looking at the Han River") "The strong wind blows my heart, and the Xianyang tree hangs in the west. "(Li Bai's "Jinxiang Farewell to Wei Ba and Xijing") "The setting sun illuminates the banner, and the horse whistles in the wind. "(Du Fu's "After Leaving the Fortress" Part 2) "The endless falling trees rustled, and the endless Yangtze River rolled in." "(Du Fu's "Deng Gao") "The spring tide brings rain in the evening and comes quickly, and there is no one to cross the wild boat. "(Wei Yingwu's "Chuzhou West Stream") "The wind suddenly picked up and ruffled a pool of spring water. "(Feng Yansi's "Containing the Golden Gate") "On the moon, the willow branches, people make an appointment after dusk. "(Ouyang Xiu's "Shengchazi Yuanxi") "Outside the setting sun, jackdaws are counting, and water is flowing around the isolated village. "(Qin Guan's "Man Ting Fang") "The small building listens to the spring rain all night, and the deep alley sells apricot flowers in the Ming Dynasty. "(Lu You Lu An's Spring Rain and Fog") If we appreciate these verses repeatedly, we can enter the artistic conception and enjoy the beauty.
Some lyrical prose and parallel prose that describe scenes also have poetic artistic conception. Wang Bo It goes without saying that even the prose of pre-Qin scholars, such as "The Analects of Confucius", has some poem-like fragments. In the chapter "Advanced", Zilu, Zeng Zhe, Ran You, and Gong Xihua were sitting in the chapter. Confucius asked them to express their own ambitions. The other people spoke directly. Only Zeng Zhe expressed it through a descriptive language. :
In late spring, the spring clothes are ready, five or six people are crowned, and six or seven boys are bathing in Yi, and the wind is dancing, and they return home chanting. There is artistic conception.
Does opera have artistic conception? Yes. Wang Guowei said that the beauty of Yuan dramas can be summed up in one word: it is just artistic conception. What is meant by artistic conception? It is said: Writing about feelings is refreshing, describing scenery is in people's ears and eyes, and describing things is like speaking. "("Research on Operas of the Song and Yuan Dynasties") The lyrics in opera pay special attention to the expression of artistic conception. Some lyrics are good at describing the scenery, setting off the atmosphere, and expressing the inner activities of the characters, such as the one in "Farewell at the Long Pavilion" in Wang Shifu's "The Romance of the West Chamber" Two pieces of music:
[正宫] [正宫] The sky is blue, the ground is yellow, the west wind is strong, and the wild geese flying from the north to the south are drunk in the frost forest.
[Ending] In the surrounding mountains, the lingering light of a whip fills my mind. I wonder how these big and small cars can carry it?
Is there any artistic conception in the novel? It is like "Liao Zhai". "The Girl in Green" in "Zhiyi" was written by Yu Jing, who was studying in the temple. Suddenly a woman outside the window at night praised him and said: "Yu Xianggong is diligent in reading!" "While Fang was doubtful, the woman opened the door and smiled. She was dressed in green and long skirt, very graceful. She fell in love with her, so she slept with him. The woman understood the music wonderfully, and her singing moved her ears and heart. One night, the woman left. Yu Sheng heard her cry for help. A big spider caught something in the eaves and whined. When he picked it up from the broken net, a green bee was about to die. "Catch it and put it on the desk." When you stop moving, you can only walk. Xu climbed into the inkstone pool, threw himself into the ink, came out and lay down on the table, and made the character "thank you" while walking. Spreading its wings, it flew through the window. Since then it has been extinct. "The whole novel is full of poetry, and the last paragraph is particularly artistic.
The creation of Chinese literature not only focuses on expressing the artistic conception, but of course literary appreciation should also strive to feel and enter the artistic conception. When we read those profound artistic conceptions When writing a work, you may temporarily ignore everything around you, turning a blind eye or hearing nothing, and your whole mind is immersed in the world of imagination. Sometimes your own past aesthetic experience is evoked and resonates with the poet. Sometimes it seems that your soul is opened. A new window, a new understanding of the universe and life.
Sometimes I feel that I have transcended my old self and moved towards a brighter and wiser place both personally and intellectually.
How can we enter the artistic conception of literary works? We must gallop our imagination and associations, from here to there, from the outside to the inside. Poetry appreciation requires the use of imagination and association, so there is no need to go into details. Here I will only talk about the appreciation of opera. Chinese opera performances are highly virtual. Riding in a car, rowing a boat, fighting on horseback, knocking on a door and climbing a building. Various actions are performed by actors in a virtual way. There is no real scenery on the stage. The mountains and rivers and the thousands of troops and horses are all left to the audience's imagination. When I was reading the script, not only were there no scenery, but there were no actors in front of me. All I saw were words on paper. Readers should use these words to imagine the scene on the stage, and make the dead words come alive one by one and turn them into some vivid scenes. Only in this way can we enter its artistic conception.
Three sustenances
Chinese literature has a tradition of sustenance to convey aspirations. "The Analects of Confucius·Zihan" says: "When the years are cold, you will know that the pines and cypresses will wither." Expression through pines and cypresses Strong character. The beautiful vanilla in "Li Sao" expresses the poet's noble sentiments. Some writers are afraid or unwilling to express their political opinions clearly, and they often conceal their true meanings and use the method of expressing their aspirations through facts. Many of the works titled "Yong Huai", "Yong History", "Feelings" and "Feelings" are like this. Therefore, when appreciating Chinese literature, one must pay attention to whether there is sustenance. If there is sustenance, one must further clarify what sustenance is and understand the author's true thoughts and feelings through superficial images. For example, the second part of Li Shangyin's "Huizhong Peonies Are Destroyed by the Rain":
The laughing pomegranate flowers are not as good as spring, and they fall off in advance, which makes people more sad. The jade plate is full of tears, and the jade plate is filled with tears, and the brocade strings are shocked and broken. Thousands of miles of darkness is not the old garden, and business in a year is like a drifting dust. After dancing in front of the stream, you look back and feel that your beauty is new now.
This poem takes the peonies ruined by the rain as a symbol of himself, and blends poetry and lyricism to express his unfortunate experience in a tortuous and delicate way. Another example is "White Plum" by Wang Mian, a poet of the Yuan Dynasty:
This body is worn in the ice and snow forest, not like peaches and plums mixed with fragrant dust. Suddenly, the fragrance spreads all night long, spreading like spring throughout the universe.
The white plum blossom in Wang Mian's works is noble and unsullied, but it is not self-admiring. It is willing to contribute its fragrance to speed up the arrival of spring, which entrusts the poet's ideal.
It is not uncommon for works to have sustenance in prose. Han Yu's "Miscellaneous Theory" IV ("Horse Theory") uses the unknown thousand-mile horse to express the injustice of poor people. Zhou Dunyi's "Love of the Lotus" expresses his feelings with the lotus that "comes out of the mud but remains unstained". These are obvious examples.
However, we should avoid going too far and labeling works without any sustenance as Bixing's sustenance. This can only destroy the enjoyment of appreciation but not help the understanding of the work. The Han Confucian interpretation of the Book of Songs suffered from this problem. For example, "Guan Yan" is obviously a love song, but it is interpreted as "the virtue of the later era". In the Qing Dynasty, Chen Hang used the method of Han Confucian interpretation of poetry to interpret poems from the Han Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty. There were also many in-depth explanations, such as "Shangxie" of Han Dynasty Yuefu:
Shangxie! I want to know you and live a long life. From Wuling, the river is exhausted, the winter thunder bursts, the summer rain and snow, the heaven and the earth merge, and I dare to be with you.
Chen Hang said: "This loyal minister was slandered by his own words of oath!" It seemed pedantic and ridiculous.
Four Extensive Learning
Appreciation of Chinese literature requires profound cultural accomplishment. Collecting knowledge in various fields of Chinese culture can improve your appreciation ability. For example, in the appreciation of poetry, there are many things that can be learned from the theories of painting and calligraphy. In the Qing Dynasty, Wang Yuanqi said in landscape painting that the brush must be "hairy", Cai Ji emphasized "astringency" in calligraphy art, and poetry critics talked about "clumsy" in poetry art. We can confirm each other. Ye Xie's "Original Poetry" discusses the poetry of the Han and Wei dynasties: "The work is clumsy, and the work is clumsy." Chen Shidao's "Houshan Poetry Talk" commented on a poem by Liu Yuxi: "Although the language is clumsy, the meaning is work." "Yuan Mei's "Suiyuan Poetry Talk" said: "Poems should be simple but not clever, but they must be large and simple; poems should be light and not thick, but they must be thick and then light." What the painter calls "hair", the calligrapher calls "astringent". , what poets call "clumsy" has the same meaning.
Traditional Chinese art pays attention to the word "virtual", where reality can be seen from the virtual. Painters often leave large blanks in the painting, allowing viewers to fill in their own imagination. Xuan Chongguang, a painter in the early Qing Dynasty, said in "Hua Chuan": "The virtual and the real are interdependent, and all areas without paintings become wonderful scenes." Calligraphers and seal engravers pay attention to "You can move horses in sparse areas of calligraphy and painting, but do not let air pass in dense areas, and always use white to treat black. Strange things come out.” Chinese literature pursues implication, which is to reveal the truth where there is nothing, and to let readers see the words where there are no words, and then understand the interest of the work. If you have some understanding of Chinese painting art, calligraphy art, and seal cutting art, it will help you appreciate Chinese literature.