At the end of the Han Dynasty, the literature of Wei Chu and China only consisted of poems, but in terms of literary theory, literature was mixed with other academic cultures, and the distinction between literature and non-literature was still unclear. This situation began to change in the Cao Wei era. Because Cao Zhi's father and son loved and spared no effort to advocate literature, literati and literary career soon received unprecedented attention, especially as a political figure and actual leader in the literary world during Jian 'an period, Cao Pi, who became famous first as a prince and then as an emperor, spent a lot of money collecting and sorting out outstanding articles of his predecessors while enjoying himself with the pen-wielding "brothers". Moreover, because of his hobby, he deeply thought about literary problems. What is the value and function of literature, what is the relationship between the writer's talent and temperament and his works, how to divide the genre of articles, what attitude should literary criticism take, and so on. , has all entered his exploration field of vision. He wrote the results of his own thinking into the article "On Classical Essays". Although this article was short and concise (only 597 words except punctuation), it was profound and original at that time. A series of important viewpoints put forward by him marked the emergence of a new idea different from previous literary ideas. As Lu Xun said, "From the perspective of modern literature, an era of Cao Pi can be said to be" the conscious era of literature "("The relationship between Wei and Jin demeanor and articles and medicinal liquor "). Cao Pi became an influential figure in the history of China's literary criticism, and Dian Lun Essay became the first pure literary theory monograph in the history of China's literary criticism. It initiated the literary theory criticism in Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, and since then, many literary theory articles and monographs have been published one after another. Dian Lun Wen blew the first horn of "the era of literary consciousness". dissertation
In this article, Cao Pi spoke highly of the value of the article as never before. Its cloud:
Cover the article, the great cause of the country. Immortal events. The years of life sometimes end, and glory ends in the body. Both will reach a constant period, rather than endless articles. He is the author of Ancient Times. Calligraphy. The meaning of reading the article is not to forge good history, not to rely on the trend of flying, but that reputation is autobiographical.
It should be pointed out that Cao Pi's so-called articles mainly refer to poetry, prose and other literary works. In Cao Pi's view, literature is an important tool for governing the country and has a high "political" role, so it can become an "immortal" event. People's life and death are fixed, only literature is endless. Therefore, ancient sages conveyed their thoughts and wisdom through articles. They don't rely on historians' pens. Nor does it rely on the support of powerful people, but its reputation remains immortal. Cao Pi's article values here are completely different from those of traditional Confucianism. According to the Confucian principles of virtue, merit and speech, speech occupies the last position after virtue and merit. Cao Pi, on the other hand, put it in a more important position than virtue and meritorious service, thinking that only articles are truly immortal, and the rest are limited. This concept of value of goods is a major breakthrough in traditional thinking. He encouraged literati to cherish time, do their best to engage in literature, don't give up on themselves because of poverty, don't indulge in happiness and change their writing ambitions, don't follow the crowd and pursue immediate interests. In a turbulent and changeable era, in a cultural atmosphere that has been restrained and suppressed by Confucianism for a long time, a leading figure who respects literature so much will certainly attract the attention of a large number of literati who are keen on fame. Those writers with literary talent must be excited and eager to try, and they should use colorful words to express their ambition of governing the country and protecting the people. According to the Records of the Three Kingdoms. At that time, a group of people gathered around Cao Shi and his son to form the so-called "Ye Group", which is proof. Because Dian Lun Essays has made great contributions to the prosperity and development of literary creation and literary theory.
Cao Pi applied the concept of "Qi" to literary theory for the first time, creating a long tradition of writing with Qi in the history of China's literary criticism. Its cloud:
Wen Qixin is dominant, with turbid qi and body, which cannot be caused by force. For example, all kinds of music, although the standard is uniform and the rhythm is consistent, but as for gas bleeding, it is skillful and well known, although it is in the father and brother. You can't touch your children.
Cao Pi's "Qi" here refers to the author's temperament and talent in the subject matter of creation, which is a vivid expression of the writer's temperament in the article, that is, the unique style presented by the work. Why are writers' creative talents different? Why are some people good at this style and others good at another style? Why are the styles of writing the same kind of articles different? Cao Pi thinks this is due to different personalities. That is, the difference of everyone's inner qi. Cao Pi said that qi can be divided into "clear" and "turbid", which is the broadest division. As far as yin and yang are concerned. Clear turbidity means yin and yang, while rising yang means clear. Yin Qi fell into turbidity. Then the so-called "clear" is a kind of masculinity, while "turbid" refers to the dignified and depressed feminine spirit. Here, Cao Pi really pioneered the later generations to study literature with masculine beauty and feminine beauty. Writing depends on people's "qi", and the difference of writers' personality and temperament also determines the different styles of works. Because writers have different styles, we can't be good at it. Attack each other's shortcomings. Therefore, the main purpose of Dian Lun Wen is to demonstrate the objective basis of different achievements and article styles, and then to oppose the bad habit of "belittling scholars". Based on this point of view, Cao Pi and Wu made concise and pertinent criticisms on the characteristics of a series of writers' works in the Jian 'an era in their Papers and Quality Books:
RoyceWong is good at words. When Xu Gan is full of energy, he is a charming horse. For example, the first expedition, climbing the building, chanting thoughts and thoughts, while the dry branch, mysterious ape, leakage, round fan and orange ode are nothing more than Zhang and Cai. However, in his article, he failed to call it. The secretary of the chapter represents the forest and the king. Today's king is also. Should be harmonious but not strong, Liu Zhen is strong but not dense. Kong Rong's spirit is wonderful. He surpasses others. However, he can't get a theory, and he can't stand it. So ridiculous. Its goodness, yang, and Banno also.
Wang Shen is a leading figure in the creation of Ci and Fu. Xu Gan's works are characterized by soothing style. Ying's works are peaceful and lack vitality. Serina Liu's works are vigorous but not detailed enough, and Kong Rong's works are profound and wonderful, which is beyond the reach of ordinary people. The above is not only to evaluate the style characteristics of works, but also to evaluate the differences of people's objects and talents.
Cao Pi's theory of "literary spirit" is also closely related to the character evaluation style in Wei and Jin Dynasties. Since the pre-Qin period. People have long used "Qi" to explain the formation of the universe and other natural phenomena and some social phenomena. "Qi" is an important concept in people's world outlook. During the Wei and Jin Dynasties, people thought that human temperament was condensed by natural yin and yang. Different people have different natural yin and yang conditions, leading to different personalities, and their talents and specialties are also different. For example, Liu Shao's "People's Tales" said: "People are endowed with yin and yang and are shaped by the five elements." Cao Pi transferred the concept of "Qi" to literary theory. Cao Pi's "Qi" is still the style of today. He said that a writer has a certain spirit, naturally in terms of his works, but it also refers to the writer's own temperament. In his opinion. Wen Qi conforms to the temperament of the author. It is noted that the style of the article is related to the writer's temperament, which is where Cao Pi surpasses his predecessors.
The proposition of "writing is based on qi" not only reveals the internal relationship between writers and works extensively and deeply, but also criticizes and denies the formalistic tendency of Han Fu. The rulers of the Han dynasty practiced harsh ideological autocracy, which stifled the writer's creative personality. They regard writers as excellent (juggling, games), and those writers who have no ambition just write and sing hymns according to the imperial edict, even sing hymns in vain, praising immorality and striving for power and profit. Become a court plaything. In the era in which Cao Pi lived, the harsh social reality, "The world is out of chaos, and the wind is declining and complaining together" (Wen Xin Diao Long Time Series), strongly requires literature to make a strong reflection: writers in troubled times also strongly demand to express their heroic feelings in their works. At the end of the Han Dynasty, Wei Chu experienced the second great ideological liberation in the cultural history of China after a hundred schools of thought contended in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. Cao Pi, who is good at learning literature, put forward that "literature is based on qi", which is the reflection of the requirements of this era against formalism in literary theory. Under the influence of "literature is based on qi", writers began to get rid of the slave status of entertainment monarchs and began to fully show their spiritual world in their works, which made Jian 'an literature present a brand-new situation of "handsome, talented and generous" (Wen Xin Diao Long time series). This is probably the reason why Lu Xun spoke highly of Cao Pi's "literary standard", saying that it caused the "growth" of Jian 'an literature, which marked that China ancient literature entered the conscious era.