Preface to Mao Shi said: "Poets are willing to do what they want. Have ambition in your heart and speak like a poem. Emotion is moving in the middle, action is in words, and it is insufficient, so it is lamented; Lament for lack, so sing forever; Without eternal singing, I don't know how to dance with my hands. I can dance with my feet. " Poetry is produced by inner feelings, and love is the purest expression of human feelings, and it is also the most worthy of praise with poetry. There are various types of love poems in The Book of Songs, which involve the ups and downs of love. Some poems describe the intimacy of tryst, such as Quiet Girl, Cheerful Zheng Yan, Love of Two Lovers, Call of the South and Death of the Wild, while others are full of thoughts. Jian Qin shows that the right person is hard to get close to, Jiang Yousi, bitter lovelorn, Zheng Fengzhong, parents' interference, Feng Wang cart, resisting parents' interference. From the above list, we can see that the love poems in The Book of Songs widely reflect the happiness and frustration of men and women's love life at that time. In reading, we can realize that these poems are full of frank and sincere feelings.
Many love poems are written in the tone of women, and their pursuit of love is bold and enthusiastic, perhaps because of the quaint folk customs at that time. Such as Zheng Shang:
If you love me and miss me, cross the river quickly. If you don't miss me, is there no one else? You are such a stupid brother!
If you love me and miss me, cross the river quickly. I don't think about me. Is there anyone else? You are such a stupid brother!
After reading it, it gives people a simple feeling of people's livelihood. This article in The Book of Songs vividly shows us the scenes of lovers playing with each other in just a few dialogues. Poems written in a male tone can not only be written in a female tone, but also reflect women's interest in love. For example, the poem "Taifeng Jingnv" wrote down the pleasure of secret dating in a man's tone:
This quiet girl is so cute that she will come to the corner of my town. Love without seeing, scratching your head.
The quiet girl looks good. Give me a tong tube. Red has a bright red color. Love it is really a bright color.
The lovely girl waited for him in the building on the corner as agreed. Maybe for fun, he hid himself. I couldn't see her when I came, so I was in a hurry. He was ecstatic when he found the girl coming and brought him a affectionate gift. Quiet corner, lovers flirting, tenderness.
The natural expression and confession of love is full of sweetness, but the reality has added a lot of constraints to people's feelings. At that time, the marriage between men and women was already the words of parents, and it was no longer completely free. In Book of Rites Quli, it is said that "men and women are unknown unless they have media", and in Yi Li Poetry Wedding, it is said that "when you are unconscious, you should collect geese." In the Book of Rites Ji Fang: "Where is Wako?" There is no axe to cut. How about getting a wife? No matchmaker, no marriage. What is the art of hemp? Follow its mother. How about getting a wife? You must tell your parents. "Visible love between men and women at that time is limited. As for women, they are even more bound, unwilling to give up their lover and afraid to disobey their parents' orders. Captain Zheng Feng described such a woman trapped by love:
If you are Nakako, you will never surpass me or break my tree. How dare you love and fear my parents? Zhong can get pregnant, parents' words are awesome.
General zhongzi xi, no more than my wall, no more than my tree mulberry. How dare you love it and be afraid of my brothers? Zhong can get pregnant, and the words of your brothers are also awesome.
General zhongzi xi, no more than my garden, no more than my sandalwood. Dare to love, fear people's many words. Zhong kehuai, many words are awesome.
Mencius wrote in Teng Wengong: "Husbands are born to be officials, and women are born to be officials. Everyone has the heart of parents. If the matchmakers peep at each other and follow each other over the wall without waiting for their parents' orders, then your parents and people will be mean. It is these ethical codes that the heroine in General Zhong Zi fears. The love for neutrons and the words of parents, brothers and compatriots have become tangled contradictions in the hearts of girls. On the one hand, they love their loved ones, on the other hand, they are their parents and brothers. What do we do? How much sadness and contradiction? How can a girl's heart be clear?
The description of women in the love poems in The Book of Songs is true and natural, and it is just right to use "thinking innocently" to describe the feelings inside.
In addition, The Book of Songs, as an ancient collection of poems, contains poems written in one place at a time. From these love poems, we can also see that the folk customs in different regions and different periods are different. We don't know the exact age of some poems, but from the perspective of the whole historical development, the ancient customs of marriage and love should be a process from openness to conservatism, and the customs of various vassal countries and different regions are also different. For example, critics often say "lewd", but from now on, it's just that most of Zheng's poems are bold poems that express the feelings of men and women, but they are bolder and more enthusiastic. But from "Wanshang" to "General Zhong Zi", both of them are Zheng Feng, and we can see some differences. The former is more open, while the latter is more worried. This may be because the times are different and the author's identity is different, but generally speaking, the marriage system at that time was not as strict as that in the late feudal period, and it was relatively free compared with the feudal period.