"Theory of Soul" is an artistic creation proposition in China's ancient literary theory and poetry criticism. Yuan Hongdao, the leader of the "Public Security School", a literary innovator in the late Ming Dynasty, put forward the creative idea of "expressing one's own spirit and not sticking to one pattern". In the field of poetry and prose in the late Ming Dynasty, he set off a literary innovation trend of thought with the content of opposing the "literature must be in Qin and Han Dynasties and poetry must flourish in Tang Dynasty" advocated by the former seven scholars, and emphasized that literary creation should express one's mind directly, express one's true feelings and pursue individual style. In Qing Dynasty, Yuan Mei inherited and developed this artistic creation idea in poetry criticism, which had a great influence in modern times and modern literary history.
Yuan Hongdao called his brother who works in Xiao Xu Shi Xiu:
Most of them express their spirit independently and don't stick to the rules. They don't want to write unless it comes from their own ideas. Sometimes, feelings and situations can be expressed in a thousand words in an instant, such as injecting water into the east, which is amazing. There are advantages and disadvantages; The advantages are self-evident, that is, there are many defects that are unique to your own words. But I am very pleased with its shortcomings. The so-called good ones can't help but hate whitewashing plagiarism and think that they have not been able to get rid of the habits of modern literati.
Yuan Hongdao believes that poetry should be "true", and "true poetry" is the center of mind and spirit. Jiang Yingke quoted Yuan Hongdao in the preface to Our Basket:
Why should poetry be Tang, why should it flourish early? Self-spirituality is the true ear of poetry. Husband is good at heart and living in the environment. The environment melts carelessly, and the heart can bear it; Heart can vomit, wrist can transport. ..... Take a picture with the heart, and the heart and wrist are tempted, then the soul is unnecessary. This is called true poetry.
He also emphasized that artistic creation has a true face, that is, personality characteristics. In the article "With Qiu", Yuan Hongdao said:
Generally speaking, things are really expensive, but if it is true, my face can't be the same as yours. What about the appearance of the ancients? ..... The strangeness, beauty and ingenuity of poetry are all-encompassing, and generation after generation is in full bloom, so there is endless love in ancient times, and now there is a scene of writing. However, why should the past be high and the present be low? (Complete Works of Yuan Zhonglang, Volume 2 1, see Selected Literary Theories of China in Past Dynasties, Volume 3, page 209).
Yuan Hongdao's thought of seeking truth originated from Li Zhi and was inspired by Li Zhi's theory of childlike innocence. Li Zhi regarded Confucian culture as a trace that made people lose their authenticity, so he strongly opposed Confucianism. He believes that when people study Confucian classics such as the Six Classics, the Analects of Confucius and Mencius, their "childlike innocence" will be lost, their sincerity will disappear, and they will become "dummies", tell "lies" and do "false things". He praised "childlike innocence". Say:
People who are childlike are absolutely naive, and their first thought is also the foundation. If you lose your childlike innocence, you lose your sincerity; If you lose your heart, you lose your real person. People are not true and have no beginning. (Li Zhi's Book Burning Volume III Miscellaneous Notes)
Yuan Hongdao thinks The Boy is the most interesting, because the boy can "follow one's inclinations and be fearless", and keeping the innocence and liveliness of human nature is the first.
When Yuan Hongdao emphasized "spirituality", he definitely affirmed the expression and expression of people's desire for life. In his view, the ballads "sung by a woman's obedient son" are more valuable than the poems of literati, because these ballads are "sent at will and can still communicate people's emotions and hobbies." ("Xiao Xu Shi Xiu"), what is gratifying is the expression of "true voice", without affectation, the expression of human nature. He said in the collection of Xu's genealogy: "Everything is sweet when brewed, bitter when roasted, and uncontrollable when it is light;" Can't do it, it is the true spirit of literati. " Poetry is required not to rely on "reason" or "knowledge", but to freely express people's desire for life and show their unique creation.
Yuan Mei was a poetic critic in the prosperous period of Qianlong in Qing Dynasty, and he took gardens as his poems. The theory of "spiritual nature" put forward by him in his poetry criticism is the inheritance and development of the poetic theory of "expressing spiritual nature alone and not sticking to one pattern" represented by the public security school in Ming Dynasty.
The core of Yuan Mei's "Theory of Soul" is to emphasize that poetry creation should express the poet's mind directly and express the poet's true feelings. It is believed that the essence of poetry is to express emotion, and emotion is the natural expression of human feelings. He said:
Poet, human nature is also.
All those who preach poetry are spiritual, regardless of piling up.
Poetry is hard to be true, but temperament is true.
("Poetry with the Garden")
Poets, inner voices, and those who show their feelings. ("Same garden?" Answer to the Ministry of Water Resources)
Yuan Mei's "soul" is synonymous with "temperament". He believes that poetry is born of emotion, and the true and natural expression of temperament is "the original purpose of poetry". He sharply criticized Shen Deqian's "model theory" at that time. He clearly pointed out in "Answering Shen Da Zong Bo's Poems": "Poetry is clumsy but not modern", and he thought: "Anyone who has a meter has a meter, but the meter can't produce a meter". (Poetry follows the garden). He does not completely deny the meter, but advocates the natural and living meter based on the meter, rather than the dead meter that binds people's meter. He also resolutely opposes the popular view that poetry is judged by Tang poetry or Song ci, saying: "Poetry doesn't matter whether it is Tang or Song. Those in the Tang and Song Dynasties, the country of one generation, have nothing to do with poetry. Poets, each with his own temperament, have nothing to do with the Tang and Song Dynasties. If you hold the Tang and Song Dynasties as enemies, you will have the name of national subjugation in your own chest, but you will not be complacent and lose the original purpose of the poem. " (Answer to Shi Lantuo's Book of Poetry) It can be seen that Yuan Mei's poetic theory is in the same strain as that of the Gong 'an School.
Regarding the origin of "the theory of soul", the poet Liu Xizai once pointed out: "Zhong Rong's poem about Ruan Infantry can be, originally, written by the poet of soul." ("Art?" In fact, Yuan Mei said a long time ago: "When you copy Zhong Rong's poems, it is the time when he knows his own soul" (On Poems of Continued Yuan Dynasty). Therefore, "Zhong Rong really opened the trend of spiritual literature in Ming and Qing Dynasties." (Wu Zhaolu's Research on China's Spiritual and Literary Thoughts). It can be seen that although the origin of "the theory of soul" can be traced back to the Southern Dynasties, people basically only focus on Zhong Rong. The theory of "spirit of nature" had begun to take shape in the Southern Dynasties, and had a far-reaching impact on literary creation at that time.
Second, the connotation of "the theory of soul"
The original meaning of "sex" refers to human nature.
Sex is the yang of people, and so is kindness. (Xu Shen's "Shuo Wen Jie Zi")
People who have sex are born, can't learn and can't do anything.
..... what you can't learn and what you can't do is called sex.
("Xunzi? Sexual evil ")
Food and clothing are human resources; Scenery, a good place to have sex. (Xie Lingyun, "Famous Mountain Tour")
The original meaning of "spirit" comes from the witch history culture full of strong natural life consciousness.
Spirit, witchcraft and jade serve God. (Xu Shen's "Shuo Wen Jie Zi")
The Southern Dynasties often used "God" to express people's life consciousness, spiritual vitality and natural instinct.
People are the most spiritual in life, pretending to be natural and delicate. (Zhu on the Essence of Law)
Man grasps the spirit of heaven and earth, including the virtues of the five permanent members. ..... Grasp the spirit, there is no reason and difference. (Shen Yue Song Shu? Xie Lingyun biography)
Mu Bing's yin and yang are biased, and man contains a spiritual essence. (Xiao Chen's "Hard to Destroy God")
Between heaven and earth, only people are the most spiritual; Nothing is more important than life. (Xiao Gang's "Persuading to Learn Medicine")
The combination of "sex" and "god" mostly expresses human nature, life consciousness and universe ontology;
Influenced by mountains and rivers, it is clear and beautiful. (Pei "Liu Qiu Bei")
The spirit of descending seven latitudes is the righteousness of five elements. (Pei Yezi, "Sikong An Cheng Kang Wang Xiangxing")
Where there is spirituality, there is joy in life. (Shen Yue's karma)
At this time, the combination of "sex" and "spirit" and the meanings of "temperament" and "emotion" often refer to people's natural nature and life consciousness:
Sex springs love fish and birds. (He Yin's answer to the Crown Prince)
If you are sick, you are idle and obedient. (Xie Lingyun's Preface to Mountain Residence)
Emotion is obscure and reason is profound. (Shen Yue's Immortality of God)
Mind wandering five tables, leaving no traces, falling bones, sending away, winning emotions, will be prosperous and high. (Xiao Yan's "What Yin Ge")
The word "soul" originated in the Southern Dynasties, and its social background was the prevalence of Buddhism. Buddhist scriptures and theories especially like the concepts of mind, spirit, spirit and sex. The core of Buddhist meaning is "heart". Fu Hong, a great scholar in the Liang Dynasty, declared in "Heart of Wang Ming": "Seeing Buddha from the heart means that the heart is Buddha. ..... purification method and the heart, the heart is the Buddha. There is no other Buddha except this heart king. " "The heart is everything, and all laws are empty." (Zong Bing's On Buddhism in the Ming Dynasty) "All three realms are created by the mind". (Kumarajiva translated "Great Wisdom" Volume 29)
Putting "heart" in a prominent position is the main feature of the "theory of soul" in the literary theory of the Southern Dynasties. Its performance is as follows:
First of all, the position of "heart" as the source of literature was established.
Only ginseng, Zhong Zhiling, is called Sancai. For the five elements, the heart of heaven and earth; In terms of mind, it is civilized to speak; The way of nature is ... a device with a heart has no language! (Liu Xie's "Wen Xin Diao Long")
If you are sincere, your words are sincere. Yesterday, Zi Juan's heart was beautiful, so Wang Sun's heart was smart and beautiful, so he used it wisely. (Liu Xie, "Wen Xin Diao Long? Preface)
In this way, literature will shift from social standard to people standard; From being mass-oriented to being individual-oriented.
Secondly, it emphasizes the infinite vitality of "heart" as the author's spiritual subject.
The heart of those who change with the spirit is also. ("The Painting of Wang Wei")
The author covers the weather vane of feelings and the laws of the gods. It is full of thoughts, touched by the heart, written on paper, and has a natural charm. (Xiao Zixian's "Southern Qi Shu"? Literary Biography ")
Mind wandering five tables, not falling behind, not falling off, far away, winning temperament, will be prosperous and high, writing will be virtuous, far away from the world. (Xiao Zixian's "What Point Yin Ge")
This actually emphasizes the author's subjective initiative, which leads to a series of related problems, such as the expression of my personal feelings, the domination of the spirit over the material, and the resonance between inner and external things.
Thirdly, the combination with the traditional telepathy theory strengthens the ingenious creativity of the mind.
In the Spring and Autumn Period, Yin and Yang are sad, and my heart is shaking.
Love moves with things, and words are sent with feelings. A leaf is popular, and the sound of insects is enough to attract people's hearts.
Mountains overlap water, trees mix clouds. The eyes are still in the past, and the heart is breathing.
(Liu Xie, "Wen Xin Diao Long? Find ")
Husband is a person who needs to understand with his eyes. The class has become perfect, so have the eyes and the heart. You should be able to feel God, who is beyond reason. (Zong Bing's Preface to Painting Landscape)
All kinds of repercussions touch the soul. (Zhong Rong's Preface to Poetry)
These are all related to the traditional telepathic theory (Book of Rites? Yue Ji said: Every sound comes from people's hearts. When the heart moves, everything does its best. Emotion is moved by things, so it is shaped by sound. ) there are * * * contacts.
The connotation of "the theory of soul" is based on the traditional "the theory of telepathy between mind and matter", centered on human natural nature and life consciousness, and promoted by the Buddhist theory of "mind", emphasizing the personality characteristics and lyric characteristics of literary and artistic creation. Pursuing the natural expression of "vivid charm" is self-evident, and its influence on the whole literary thought.