Guan Guan Jujiu, in the river island. A graceful lady, a gentleman is fond of quarrels.
Scattered waterlilies flow left and right. A graceful lady, I long for her.
I can’t get what I want, so I sleep hard and think about it. Leisurely leisurely, tossing and turning.
Pick them from left to right. A graceful lady, she is a friend of the piano and the harp.
Assorted water plants, left and right. The fair lady is played with bells and drums.
This short poem "Guofeng·Zhou Nan·Guan Ju" occupies a special position in the history of Chinese literature. It is the first chapter of the Book of Songs, the oldest classic of Chinese literature. Although judging from their nature, some mythological stories should have been produced earlier, but as written records, they are relatively late. So it can be said that when you look at the history of Chinese literature, the first thing you encounter is "Guan Ju".
It is usually considered to be a love song describing the love between a man and a woman. This poem skillfully adopts the expression technique of "Xing" in art. In the first chapter, birds sing toward each other and they are in love, evoking the idea of ??a lady accompanying a gentleman. In the following chapters, the act of picking watermelon arouses the protagonist's crazy lovesickness and pursuit of women. The language of the whole poem is beautiful, and it is good at using double voices, overlapping rhymes and overlapping words, which enhances the beauty of the poem's phonology and the vividness of describing people and onomatopoeia.
The content of "Guan Ju" is actually very simple. It is about a "gentleman"'s pursuit of a "lady". When he couldn't get a "lady", he was distressed and couldn't sleep because of tossing and turning; when he got a "lady", The "lady" was very happy and asked people to play music to celebrate, thus making the "lady" happy. The identity of the characters in the work is very clear: "Gentleman" was a general term for aristocrats in the era of "The Book of Songs", and this "gentleman" had to have a certain status because he had the music of harps, bells and drums at home. In the past, this poem was often interpreted as a "folk love song", but I'm afraid that's wrong. It should describe the life of the aristocratic class. In addition, it is certainly true to say that it is a love poem, but I am afraid it is not an ordinary love poem. This turned out to be a wedding song, which was sung by the groom’s family to praise the bride and wish them a happy marriage. Many ballads in "The Book of Songs: Guofeng" have general lyrical meaning, entertainment function, and ceremonial practicality. However, the original purpose of some poems is unclear to later generations, so they are regarded as ordinary songs. of songs. Looking at "Guan Ju" as a wedding song, it is also joyful and appropriate to sing from "A graceful lady, a gentleman likes to be brave" to "Friends with harp and harp" and "Music of bells and drums".
Of course, the poem itself is still in the form of a love song about a man pursuing a woman. The reason for this is probably related to the fact that in general marriage relationships, the man is the active party. Even in modern times, when a girl falls in love with a guy, she always waits for him to speak first, and this was especially true for the ancients. When you come back with a bride, praise her as a beautiful and virtuous girl, a good spouse for a gentleman, and say that you missed her to the point of being lovesick, you will definitely please the bride very much. Then amidst the music of harps, bells and drums, their feelings came closer to each other, and a happy marriage began from here. Even from the perspective of the emotional structure of the poem, from seeing Guan Ju and thinking about the lady to forming a good relationship with Qin and Se, some twists and turns are necessary in the middle: only hard-earned things are particularly valuable and particularly pleasing.
This poem can be regarded as a model of the virtues of a couple, mainly due to these characteristics:
First of all, the love it writes about has a clear marriage from the beginning. The purpose ultimately comes down to the happiness of marriage, not a brief encounter or temporary passion between young men and women. This kind of love that clearly points to marriage and expresses responsibility is more recognized by society.
Secondly, the men and women it writes about are "gentleman" and "lady", indicating that this is a union associated with virtue. "Gentleman" has dual meanings of status and virtue, while "fair lady" also means both physical beauty and good moral conduct. The combination of "gentleman" and "lady" here represents an ideal of marriage.
Thirdly, it is the restraint of love behavior written in poetry. If you read it carefully, you will notice that although this poem is about a man's pursuit of a woman, it does not involve any direct contact between the two parties. Although the "lady" did not show any movements, the "gentleman" only "tossed and turned" alone there. Things like climbing walls and breaking willows seemed to have never occurred to her at all, and she was very disciplined in her love. Such a love not only contains real and profound feelings (which is very important for love poems), but is also expressed in a gentle and measured way, and does not move the reader too intensely.
The above characteristics are probably related to the fact that this poem was originally a song at a noble wedding. That kind of occasion requires a controlled and joyful atmosphere commensurate with the owner's status. Confucius saw in it the beauty of harmony with broad significance, thereby advocating the life attitude of self-restraint and emphasizing moral cultivation that he respected. The "Preface to Mao's Poems" commended it as one that can "wind the world and rectify the couple" Moral textbook. The two perspectives are somewhat different, but they are still fundamentally consistent.
The ancient Confucians attached great importance to the virtues of husband and wife, and there is a profound reason for this.
In the first sense, the family is the basic unit of social organization. In ancient times, the harmony and stability of this basic unit was of great significance to the harmony and stability of the entire social order.
In the second sense, the so-called "virtue of husband and wife" actually refers to all aspects related to issues between men and women.
"Eating and drinking, men and women, preserves man's great desires" ("Book of Rites: Li Yun"). Confucius also knew that this was a basic requirement for human survival. The desire to eat is relatively simple (of course, you must have food first), but the emotional activities caused by the desire of men and women are much more complex, active, and intense, and its potential dangers to living standards and social order are also much greater. Confucius also lamented : "I have never seen anyone who loves virtue as much as he loves sex." ("The Analects") Therefore, all restraint and all cultivation must first start with the desire of men and women. This is of course necessary, but to what extent is appropriate restraint is a complex issue, which involves a combination of social material production levels, political structure, cultural traditions and other factors, as well as changes in the conditions of the times. When a society attempts to adopt a radical negative attitude towards individual rights, severe prohibitions will first appear in this regard. On the contrary, when a society is in a period of change and old moral norms are destroyed, unbridled behavior will first appear in this regard. Going back to "Guanyong", what it praises is a kind of love that is emotionally restrained, cautious in behavior, and aims at marital harmony. Therefore, Confucian scholars feel that this is a good model and a "righteous couple" and thus leads to a wide range of people. Textbook of virtue.
Since "Guan Ju" recognizes that the love between men and women is a natural and normal emotion, it also requires that this emotion be restrained and made consistent with social virtues. People in later generations often take what they need. On the one hand, it is extended and developed, and people who resist the inhuman oppression of feudal ethics often use the authoritative banner of "Guan Ju" to assert their right to satisfy their personal emotions. The so-called "poetry has no meaning" can be seen in "Guanyong".
Reference materials: 1. Luo Yuming et al. Dictionary of Pre-Qin Poetry Appreciation. Shanghai: Shanghai Dictionary Publishing House, 1998: 1-6.2, Chao Fulin. The purpose of "Guan Ju" from the "Poetry Theory" on the Shanghai Bo slip. Chinese Cultural Studies, 2008 (02).