Literature is an art that uses language as a tool and emotions to move readers' hearts, including poetry, poetry, prose, drama, novels and other types. Chinese literature has a long history, with a dazzling array of writers, colorful schools, and numerous works. However, only some works can be called literary classics.
What kind of works are likely to become literary classics? Let's start with an entry in Liu Yiqing's "Shishuoxinyu·Literature".
Xie Gong and his younger brothers gathered together and asked: "Which sentence is the best in "Mao's Poems"?" He said: "In the past, I went, and the willows clung to me; now I come to think about it, the rain and snow are falling." Said: "Mo decides the fate, and you will tell him from afar." It is said that this sentence is more elegant and profound.
This is the most famous event in the history of literature, where the uncle and nephew of the Xie family in the Eastern Jin Dynasty wrote poems. Regarding the question of which sentence is the best in "The Book of Songs", Xie's uncle and nephew have different opinions. Xie Xuan thinks it is the "Xiwo" sentence in "Xiaoya·Caiwei", while Xie An thinks that the "訏" sentence in "Daya·Yi" is the best. "Mo determines destiny, reports from afar" has profound meaning especially for elegant people. People appreciate literary works in two ways: "appreciation for appreciation" and "appreciation of art". "Appreciation by heart" is a highly subjective way of appreciation. When appreciating a work in this way, the appreciator does not judge the quality of the work by the standards of literary criticism, but by whether it can express itself here and now. "Art appreciation" is an aesthetic activity in which people use literary criticism standards as a criterion to appreciate the content, emotion, and formal skills of a work. Therefore, if the appreciator uses "appreciation for appreciation" to appreciate the work, it is impossible to come up with a recognized good work; while the standards of literary criticism are often recognized, if the appreciator uses "art appreciation" to appreciate the work, it is possible Come up with recognized good works. The above-mentioned "Poetry" activities of Xie's uncle and nephew belong to "appreciation out of love" rather than "appreciation of art". The sentence "I used to be" in "Xiaoya Caiwei" expresses the mixed emotions of joy and sorrow on the return of soldiers who have been stationed for a long time. During Xie Xuan's military life, military life was something he was very familiar with; even if this "Poetry" was written before Xie Xuan joined the army, he should have paid attention to military life at this time, otherwise he would not be able to do so later. Become a famous general. The main reason why Xie Xuan thinks that the sentence "I am in the past" is the best is precisely because of his profound understanding of the life and emotions of the officers and soldiers in the army; the sentence "Momo determines the fate, and the morning is far away" in "Daya·Yi", note in "Collected Poems" Said: "诏" means "big". "Mo" means plan. "Big plan" means that it is not a personal plan, but has the concerns of the world. "Ding" means that the decision cannot be changed. "Ming" means an order. "You" means a plan. "A long-term plan" means that it is not a plan. It is a temporary plan, but it is also a long-term rule. "Chen" is also a warning. He was a minister of the dynasty, and the sentence "訏Mo" was a reflection of his political feelings, so he thought this sentence was "more profound than a refined man". As we all know, it is the "Xiwo" sentence in "Caiwei" rather than the "訏Mo" sentence in "Yi" that became a classic in later generations. However, we cannot think that Xie Xuan has more artistic vision and literary literacy than Xie An. Judging from the existing documents, Xie An's artistic vision and literary literacy were far superior to Xie Xuan's. The reason why the "Xiwo" sentence in "Caiwei" has become a classic sentence is because its artistic quality far exceeds that of the "樏Mo" sentence in "Yu", which provides an infinitely broad space for "art appreciation" for future generations of readers. . Here are a few examples:
The freshness of the scorching peach blossoms echoes the appearance of willows.
Zimei's poem "Crying Su Shaojian" says: "When he went to Taizhou to commit crimes, he abandoned the scholarly scholars. After he moved to Pengge, Gu Gui died and his wife was late." Every other sentence is paired, also known as the fan pair pattern. Ran Zu's poem "Plucking Wei": "In the past, I went away, and the willows were there. Now I come to think about it, and the rain and snow are falling."
"In the past, I went away, and the willows were there. Now I come to think about it, and the rain is falling." "Snow is falling." Use happy scenes to describe sadness, and use sad scenes to write joy, doubling the sadness and joy.
(Poetry) uses the method of contrast to combine the "present-past" of time sequence, the "willow-snow" of phenology, and the "coming-to-coming" of life to create a transcendent reality. typical picture. This short four-line poem may seem plain, but it is full of powerful artistic appeal. The same "I", but there are differences between "past and present", the same road, but there are differences between "willows Yiyi" and "rain, snow and rain", and all of these are changes in this life of "going" and "coming" Zhongsheng... The poem contains the deep emotion of life in contrast, thus bringing us into a higher aesthetic realm to experience the mystery of life.
On the other hand, looking back at the sentence "訏Mo" in "Yi", after Xie An, he became "high-minded and low-key". Except for a few scholars such as Wang Fuzhi, there were few people who were praised as good. The reason for this is not that Xie An's appreciation ability is low, but that the artistic and aesthetic value of the poem itself is not high.
It can be seen that the first condition for a literary work to become a classic is that a literary work must have extremely high artistic quality. The artistic quality of literary works includes the richness of the meaning of the work, the vividness of the language, the diversity of artistic techniques, etc. Only literary works of extremely high artistic quality can create an emotional resonance with generations of readers, conquer readers both at home and abroad with their powerful artistic charm, and withstand the test of history and become literary classics.
So, can literary works of extremely high artistic quality definitely become classics? Let's look at another example.
The two poems "Picking Wei" and "Getting Out of the Car" are both in "The Book of Songs·Xiaoya·Lu Ming Zhi Shi". Chapter 4 of "Getting out of the Car" has a poem that goes:
In the past I left, millet and millet Fang Hua. Now I come to think about it, it rains and snows.
Compare the sentence "I am in the past" in "Plucking Wei":
I am gone in the past, and the willows are still there. Now that I'm thinking about it, it's raining and snowing.
The terms used in the two are very similar, but the latter has become a classic saying that has been passed down through the ages, while the former is almost unknown. What is the reason? Some scholars believe that the former "applied" the latter. Mr. Li Jinkun first proposed the theory of "paraphrasing", saying: "As for the expressions 'I have passed away in the past' and 'I come to think about today', which use different scenes of the past and present to reflect the passage of time, they were used in the "Book of Songs" era. People are happy to use it. For example, "Xiaoya·Chuche": "In the past, the millet and grain were blooming. Now I come to think about it, and the rain and snow are on my way." Since then, more and more people have used it." It can be seen that Mr. Li Jinkun used it. Praise is given to the "Xiwo" sentence in "Caiwei" and derogatory to the "Xiwo" sentence in "Chuche". Mi Yuting, Yin Guangxi and others also viewed it similarly. But the "application" theory seems to be unreasonable. Firstly, in the "Book of Songs", although "Plucking Wei" is ranked before "Chuche", it is not clear which of the two poems was written first and later. It is difficult for us to say clearly. In the end, is it the "former self" sentence of "Chu Che" that is adapted from the "former self" sentence of "Cai Wei", or is the "former self" sentence of "Chu Wei" adapted from the "former self" sentence of "Chu Che". Secondly, even if the "Xiwo" sentence in "Chuche" "copied" the "Xiwo" sentence in "Caiwei", its artistic quality is slightly inferior to the "Xiwo" sentence in "Caiwei" (in fact, the artistic quality of the two The difference in quality is extremely small and it is difficult to distinguish them from each other), and it cannot be explained satisfactorily by the "application" theory. In the history of literature, there are many examples of such "applications" and those being "appropriated" that have become literary classics. In terms of entire works, such as Li Bai's "Ascend the Phoenix Tower of Jinling" and Cui Hao's "Yellow Crane Tower"; in terms of poems, , such as Su Shi's "Shui Tiao Ge Tou" "When will the bright moon come? Ask the blue sky for wine" and Li Bai "Ask the blue sky for the moon" "When will the clear moon come? Today I will stop drinking and ask."
We believe that another important reason why the "Xiwo" sentence in "Caiwei" has become a famous literary classic is the above-mentioned activity of Xie's uncle and nephew writing "Poems" recorded in Liu Yiqing's "Shishuoxinyu". It was this "Poetry" activity that made the "I used to be" sentence in "Plucking Wei" begin to attract attention on such an accidental occasion, and began its journey to "fame". There are two key factors here: one is the identity and status of Xie's uncle and nephew, and the other is the artistic quality and status of Liu Yiqing's "Shi Shuo Xin Yu". First, let’s talk about the key role of the identity and status of Xie’s uncle and nephew in the process of “becoming famous” in the “Xi Wo” sentence in “Caiwei”. The Chinese nation is a nation where morality is supreme. The nobler a person's character, the greater his influence. Confucius's writings have become classics and have been passed down through the ages, and Qu Yuan's "Li Sao" has been praised to this day. These are concrete examples of this; the Chinese nation is also a In a nation with a strong sense of official status, the higher a person's official position and political status, the greater his influence. Zhang Hua's words caused Luoyang Zhigui and Lu Ji to stop writing Zuo Si's "Sandu Fu"; Pei Qi's "Yu Lin" When it first came out, "when I was young, everything was passed down and written about". Xie An said, "Everyone despised his work, and "Yulin" was abandoned." The Xie family of Chen County was a famous aristocratic family in the middle of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Xie An became the personality god of the scholars at that time with his superhuman celebrity demeanor, and ascended to the throne of prime minister with his outstanding political talents. Xie Shi, Xie Xuan, Xie Yan and others also Strong soldiers from various leaders spread all over Fangzhen, forming a situation of "unrest" with the royal family Sima. In 383 AD, Xie An was appointed as the commander-in-chief of the capital, Xie Shi was appointed as the commander-in-chief of the expedition, Xie Xuan was appointed as the commander-in-chief of the vanguard, and Xie Yan was appointed as the general of the auxiliary state. The four people jointly directed a "Battle of Feishui" that shocked the past and the present, creating the 8th anniversary of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. A glorious example of the victory of an army of ten thousand against more than 800,000 invaders from the former Qin Dynasty. After the war, four people including Xie An, Xie Shi, Xie Xuan, and Xie Yan were granted the title of Duke on the same day. They were extremely noble. Not only did they receive the rewards they deserved, but they also established the Xie family's status as a first-class family. The character and historical status of Xie An and Xie Xuan will inevitably arouse the strong interest in their "Poetry" activities in later generations. This is exactly the case. After Xie's uncle and nephew wrote "Poetry", a celebrity effect appeared. The world, especially famous scholars of all ages, have never stopped commenting on the "I used to be" sentence in "Caiwei", making this poem rich in artistic connotation. It is constantly being discovered, which is why this poem has become a classic, has been passed down through the ages, and has attracted much attention. Secondly, the artistic quality and status of Liu Yiqing's "Shishuoxinyu" played a key role in the "famous" process of the "Xiwo" sentence in "Caiwei". If "Shishuoxinyu" is a work of extremely poor artistic quality, Xie's uncle and nephew's "Poetry" reading activities may be forgotten by the torrent of history, and whether the "I used to be" sentence in "Plucking Wei" can become a classic. A question. Fortunately, "Shishuoxinyu" has extremely high artistic quality and historical status. As a "textbook of celebrities", Shishuoxinyu provides a comprehensive and detailed record of the social activities and daily life of the scholar class in the Wei and Jin Dynasties. It is not only a classic of classical literature, but also a book about the society of the Wei and Jin Dynasties. Cultural classics have an important status and influence in the history of Chinese literature, aesthetics, thought, and culture. Since the publication of "Shishuoxinyu", it has been highly praised by emperors and generals of all dynasties and loved by literati and scholars because of its detailed material, timeless writing, rich cultural value and endless literary charm.
The Tang Dynasty revised the "Book of Jin", mostly from "Shishuoxinyu", with 312 quotations, accounting for about 30℅ of the entries in "Shishuoxinyu"; Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin, Yuan Taizu Genghis Khan, Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang, Qing Sheng Emperor Kangxi and other emperors of the past dynasties listed this book as the fundamental book for governing the country and people; literati of the past dynasties regarded it as a must-have book on their desks. Some scholars and scholars often excerpted the auspicious pieces from it as a motto to abide by throughout their lives; there is even a folk proverb: : "If a family has a fortune, it is better to read one volume of "Shishuo"." We believe that it is the extraordinary artistic quality and historical status of "Shishuo Xinyu" that make Xie's uncle and nephew's "Poetry" reading activities and "Shishuo" The sentence "I am in the past" in "Plucking Wei" has attracted the attention of generations.
Basically, in ancient China where the media was underdeveloped, the "I used to be" sentence in "Plucking Wei" took advantage of the celebrity effect and masterpiece effect on the journey to "fame". This is the quality of art. There is no luck that is comparable to the "I am in the past" sentence in "Out of the Car". It can be seen that in order for a literary work of extremely high artistic quality to become a classic, it must continue to be evaluated and recognized by readers, especially celebrities of past generations, during its dissemination.
A genre with a large number of classic works will inevitably become a classic genre. The history of ancient Chinese literature is a history of classics. Each dynasty has its own strengths in literature, and each era has its representative classic styles. The preface of Wang Guowei's "A Study of Operas in Song and Yuan Dynasties" says: "Every generation has its own literature, and Chu The poetry of the Han Dynasty, the parallelism of the Six Dynasties, the poetry of the Tang Dynasty, the lyrics of the Song Dynasty, and the music of the Yuan Dynasty are all so-called literature of one generation, and no subsequent generation can succeed. "These classic styles of different eras are all integrated into the past. The strengths of contemporary literature include the contributions of contemporary literati, who have a panoramic view of everything and express it in their writings, expressing and covering the integrity of the era and the diversity of stylistic features, forming stylistic features and stylistic norms recognized by future generations. However, it should be noted that the classic literary style of each era does not exclude the existence of classic works of other literary styles at the same time. For example, the classic literary style of the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties is parallel prose, but there are still works in the field of novels such as Liu Yiqing's "Shi Shuo Xin Yu", Qian Bao Classic works such as "Sou Shen Ji".