Shao Zuping's General Theory of Tang Poetry said: "There were 2,000 carefree writers in the Tang Dynasty ... Their works were elegant, vigorous, mighty, horizontal, gloomy, surprising, distinctive, profound, incisive, gorgeous, elegant, lofty and lonely @ And its big goal is to return, and it will be wonderful in one day, and it is a fusion work; One is nature and the other is labor. " It is believed that there were many natural people in the prosperous Tang Dynasty, and Li Bai was a "god of nature and a saint" [6]. This theory is quite insightful. Although some poems in the prosperous Tang Dynasty were skilled in craftsmanship, their mainstream was natural and belonged to the beauty of Yu Tianfang or nature. Whether writing about mountains and rivers, frontier fortress, in my heart forever, homesickness and friends, or farewell, nostalgia, nostalgia and things, they all have strong and sincere feelings. The language is pure and beautiful, and the artistic conception is open, clear and natural, without any affectation. This is why their well-known masterpieces have been loved by people of all ages.
The natural beauty of poetry in the prosperous Tang Dynasty is not only in sharp contrast with the magnificent works of the Six Dynasties, but also in obvious difference with the aesthetic taste of poetry in the early Tang Dynasty. Here we might as well give a few examples of the latter. Tang Taizong's Spring Pond Willow said:
In 2006, Liu became a pool platform, and the Sui Dynasty retreated straight. Go with the flow and bring the shadow to the wind. A bird can remove yellow, but several eyebrows can open. It snows on the spring shore, and the early plum blossoms are uneven. This poem describes Liu Zi dynamically, which is exquisite and vivid, and also has its own aesthetic value. However, in the rigorous confrontation, the language still has traces of carving, which inevitably gives people the feeling of "cleverness" and "fragmentation". And he Zhang's "Liu Yong" is different:
Jasper dressed as a tree, hanging down ten thousand green silk tapestries. I don't know who cut the thin leaves, but the spring breeze in February is like scissors.
He did not describe every detail of the willow tree like Emperor Taizong did, but wrote his overall impression of the willow tree in early spring: the willow tree stood upright like jasper, the twigs were like silk tapestries, and it was graceful. Have a natural interest in it. In addition, the beauty of He Yongliu is that it can further expand the artistic conception and fully show a kind of natural beauty in oral questions and answers with Liu Zanchun. It not only conveys the poet's beautiful vision for the ideal future, but also reveals the high-spirited spirit of the prosperous Tang Dynasty. The artistic conception is broad, clear and natural. One of the four outstanding figures in the early Tang Dynasty once had "Full Moon River":
The river faces the sun, and the moonlight is clearly written. The mirror is full of beads, and the string is full of arrow wavelengths. Shen Gou shakes the rabbit's shadow, but floats the eastern Dan of Guangxi. The court is looking at the evening, thousands of miles away. If the two couplets in the middle are removed, this poem can be regarded as a masterpiece with a long lasting appeal. However, the poet just piles songs and stories in the middle. A series of descriptions, metaphors and descriptions are nothing more than writing about the moon and moonlight, which seems trivial and fragmented, thus reducing the feeling of "lovesickness" and destroying the artistic conception and charm of the whole poem. This is the drawback of carving. Comparison of Li Bai's Thoughts on Quiet Night;
The foot of my bed is shining so brightly. Is there frost already? I looked up at the moon and looked down, feeling nostalgic. It is also the feeling of lovesickness on a moonlit night, but there are neither allusions nor flowery words in the poem; It just wrote the moon in front of us and the homesickness caused by it in plain and natural language. Its content is simple, but rich at the same time; It is plain and natural, and it contains intriguing meaning. Hu Yinglin said: "Taibai quatrains are formed by words, and the so-called unintentional workers have no labor." [(7)]
However, the poets in the prosperous Tang Dynasty pursued the beauty of nature, not without emphasizing the processing and refining of art. The plain language is an important factor in the formation of natural beauty, but only the plain language shows poetic scenes and infinite charm can it have real natural beauty. To achieve this, it is inseparable from the processing and refining of art, and more importantly, the refining of feelings and images. The above examples of Tang poetry all have this kind of refining work. Look at Wang Changling's in my heart forever again;
A young woman in the boudoir will never be sad; Spring came dressed up and boarded Chui Building alone. Suddenly I saw the green willows, and I felt uncomfortable; Oh, I regret that I shouldn't have asked my husband to find Hou Feng. The beauty of this poem lies in that the poet grasped the moment of subtle changes in the young woman's heart, and suddenly it was full of bitterness from "I don't know her worries", which produced a dramatic effect. The refinement of this detail not only deepens the emotion, but also makes the emotion and the scene fit perfectly at this moment, leaving readers with endless aftertaste. Another example is Wang Changling's poem "Parting Xin Jian at Furong Inn":
Misty rain enveloped Wu's day overnight; Send you in the morning, lonely and sad in Chushan! Friends, if my friends in Luoyang invite me; Just say I'm still Bing Xin Okho, and stick to my faith! The boundless river rain, the lonely Chu mountain and the ice heart of the jade pot are all carefully selected objects by the poet. Through the contrast and care between these objects, poetry on the one hand conveys the poet's deep friendship with relatives and friends, on the other hand, it also highlights the image of a lonely and proud lyric master. This makes the exquisite conception and profound conception melt into the artistic conception of the empty car, so the whole poem is natural and has endless charm. This is obviously a natural beauty achieved through artistic processing and the refining of feelings and images.
Compared with Wang Changling, the pursuit of natural beauty in Li Bai's poems is more prominent. For example, when talking about the creation of quatrains in Yi Yuan Ji, Wang Shimao said: "In the prosperous Tang Dynasty, violets and dragon watches were the only two schools. Li is more natural, former residence. " Indeed, reading Li Bai's poems often makes people feel that his uninhibited passion is like an erupting volcano, spinning wildly and rushing thousands of miles without hindrance; The language is fresh and smooth, even informal, and everything is unified with nature. Li Bai's so-called "clear water produces hibiscus, and carving is natural" [8] is a true portrayal of his poetic style, and it is also his heartfelt words of pursuing the beauty of nature. However, it must be noted that if Li Bai did not have profound artistic accomplishment and artistic refinement, such as exquisite artistic conception, concise artistic image, superb artistic skills and efforts to refine words and phrases, then Li Bai's poems and songs could not have reached the level of perfection and achieved such brilliant achievements. In the Song Dynasty, Zhu saw this and emphasized that "your poems are not immeasurable, but calm in statutes and more sacred than poets." [(9)] Volume 12 of the Qing Dynasty's "Zhao Wei Zhan Yan" also said: "Too white to fly fairy, not to learn in vain, easy to make a fool of yourself, and let go of the rules, which is attributed to too white and too bitter; You must learn it well. This selection is based on [( 10)] where the ropes are arranged neatly, so it is not unreasonable for later scholars to know that it is too white. Yu Yang's old eyes are full of hardships, and beauty and goodness are like this. " The so-called "statutes" mainly refers to conception and composition, but also includes refining words, sentences and meanings. For example, Wang Shizhen in the Ming Dynasty commented on Li Bai's "Emei Mountain Moon Song" in Volume IV of Yiyuanyan, saying: "Emei Mountain flows into Pingqiang River in the first half of autumn. In the evening, Qingxi went to the Three Gorges, but the four gentlemen did not see Yuzhou. This is too white. But among the 28 characters, there are Emei Mountain, Pingqiang River, Qingxi, Three Gorges and Yuzhou, which makes it impossible to trace them. It is beneficial to see the beauty of this old furnace hammer. " The "wonderful furnace hammer" mentioned here mainly refers to the refinement of poetic and artistic images. Of the twenty-eight words in this poem, each place name appears in five places, occupying twelve words, which is unique in ten thousand poems in the Tang Dynasty. But why do you not only feel repetitive when you read it, but also feel deeply touched, consistent in momentum, seamless and wonderful in chemical industry? The reason is that the poem is permeated with the poet's experience of swimming in the river and his yearning for his friends, and the symbolic artistic image of "mountain and moon" runs through everywhere, unifying the vast space and long time, thus making the artistic conception of the whole poem muddy and complete, ethereal and wonderful. It can be seen that the natural beauty achieved by Li Bai's poems is also inseparable from the refinement of art and the workmanship of the furnace hammer.
Poetry creation itself is the best embodiment of the poet's aesthetic thought and pursuit, which is the basic starting point mentioned above. Poets' pursuit of natural beauty in the prosperous Tang Dynasty is also clearly reflected in theory, mainly reflected in Li Bai's poetics.
Li's preface to the collection of thatched cottage said: "Lu Huangmen said:' The legacy of Chen Ji made the waves fall and the world changed suddenly. Today, the poetic style of the dynasty is dominated by Liang and Chen Gong, which has changed greatly and swept the floor. Today's ancient prose collection can't be stopped, but it's just popular articles, and it's surrounded by Liuhe. Can be said to be a strong enemy! "As mentioned above, due to historical habits and reasons of the times, after Chen Ziang and before the poetry of the Tang Dynasty appeared, the rest of the Qi and Liang Dynasties still influenced the poetry world. Yin Fan @ ④ also said in "Preface to Collection": "Since Xiao Gui, I am especially pretentious. Wu Dechu, the microwave is still there; In the last years of Zhenguan, the standard was getting higher and higher; In the clouds, quite far-reaching; In the fifteenth year of Kaiyuan, temperament began to prepare. " It can be seen that Li's statement that "great changes have taken place in public, sweeping the floor and doing everything possible" is not empty talk. Then it is clear that Li Bai really inherited Chen Ziang's innovative ideas, actively opposed the ups and downs of poetic style since Qi Liang, and sang the main theme of the voice of the prosperous Tang Dynasty with his poetic creation of "strength against the enemy" and "integrity". Although there are not many poems left by Li Bai, we can still see that his theoretical thoughts are consistent with his creative practice.
Meng qí @ ⑤ "Skill Poetry" quoted Li Bai as saying: "Since Qi Liang, Yan Bo was extremely thin and Shen Xiuwen was still rhythmic. Who will restore the ancient way, not me? " Also: "Five words are not as good as four words, and seven words are not as good. What's wrong with the tone? " Meng qí @ ⑤' s narrative should be said to be in line with Li Bai's poetic proposition. Look at Li Bai's expression in the poem:
Who will fail if I don't do it for a long time? Feng Wang withered the creeping weed, and there were many hazelnuts in the Warring States Period. Dragons and tigers eat each other, and soldiers fight to catch crazy Qin. What's the sound? I feel sad for the poet. The horse is making waves, and it is endless. Although the prosperity has changed, the charter has also fallen. Since Jian 'an came, beauty is not precious. Sundae restore ancient times, and clothes are expensive and halal. The group belongs to Ming Xiu and is transported by * * *. Wen Xiang Bing Huan, star Luo Qiu Wé n @ ⑥. I aim to delete the narrative and reflect the spring. If you want to be a saint, you will never get it. ("Antiques" Part I)
The mysterious wind has become too old, and mourning has always been there. The ugly girl came to follow suit and gave her neighbors a surprise. Shouling lost step, laughing and killing Handan people. A brilliant song, carving a worm, mourning innocence. It takes three years to make monkeys with spines. Success is useless, clear and beautiful. Daya Wang Siwen, the praise collapsed for a long time. With a wave of his hand, the clock turned into an axe. In these poems, Li Bai embodies his poetic aesthetic thoughts. His important viewpoints can be summarized as follows: first, restore the "ancient road" and carry forward the traditional spirit of the Book of Songs; Second, oppose the bad atmosphere of "beauty", carve and pretend; Third, advocate the natural beauty of "halal", "naive" and "a pen with one axe". In essence, these three points are different aspects of the same problem. Li Bai advocates "retro" and "retro", which is by no means a rut or retro doctrine, but as the highest standard and ideal model of poetry creation. The so-called "ancient road" includes not only the spirit of elegance, but also the spirit of Qu Sao and the character of Jian 'an. As he said: "Qu Ping's Ci hangs in the sun and the moon, and the King of Chu stands in the sky and hills" [(11)]; "The bones of great writers are all your brushes. In Tianyuan, I grew up beside you as Xiao Xie" [( 12)]. It can be seen that Li Bai's "ancient road" refers to the excellent literary tradition since Jian 'an style and Sao style. The pertinence of Li Bai's "Ancient Road" is the bad creative atmosphere of "gorgeous and thin", "beautiful" carving, imitation and declining poetry after Jian 'an, especially from Qi Liang to early Tang Dynasty. He denounced those who were addicted to imitation, as unproductive as an ugly woman's imitation and Shouling's loss of step; Those who indulge in the skill of carving insects and algae, though working as hard as the spirit of "killing monkeys with thorns and paying three fees", finally achieve nothing by "useless work, beautifying their appearance" and "carving insects and losing their innocence", completely lose the natural interest of "innocence" in literature and art. The "halal" poetic style advocated by Li Bai is also aimed at poetry sculpture. Sincere emotion, natural charm and fresh nature are the connotation of "halal" emphasized by Li Bai and the core of Li Bai's poetic aesthetic thought. Li Bai said: "Clear water produces hibiscus, natural carving" [( 13)] is the concentrated embodiment of this aesthetic thought.
The "halal" natural beauty advocated by Li Bai is closely related to the influence of Taoism. The ideological core of Taoist philosophy represented by Laozi and Zhuangzi is to advocate "natural inaction", "Taoism is natural" and oppose man-made. Laozi said: "Good words are not beautiful, but good words are not believed." [( 14)] I believe that plain language without carving is really beautiful. "Zhuangzi Tiandao" also said: "Simplicity, the world can not compete with it for beauty." Park Sumei is a natural beauty. Although Taoism does not advocate the beauty of sculpture, if sculpture is natural and conforms to nature, it can also be counted as beauty. The so-called "carving and chiseling, returning to the original" in Zhuangzi Samwood expresses this meaning. In "Zhuangzi Sheng Da", it is also put forward that "heaven and earth are one", that is, although it is artificial, it can't reveal the axe marks, as if it were naturally formed. It can be seen that Zhuangzi not only wants natural beauty, but also advocates natural and simple artistic beauty. The beauty of natural "halal" advocated by Li Bai first accepted the influence of Taoist thought in philosophy. In Li Bai's view, the primary meaning of the word "halal" refers to the nature and mental state of Taoism, that is, "natural inaction", simplicity and truthfulness. Such as Li Bai's poem:
The right army is halal and chic. (Wang Youjun)
Han Shengxin Hidehiko, Pei Zi with halal, and Kong Hou come back, all of whom are Xia Yun's cronies. ("Send Han Zhun, Pei Zheng and Kong Chao's father back to the mountain")
It's expensive to travel to Wan Li. ("No Xun Mountain in the Five Songshan Mountains in Nanling")
Dare not ride a tiger, climb a dragon and suddenly go to heaven. Leave halal food at home, stay lonely and clean to encourage Qiu Chan. ("Liu Guangling Gong")
Pour the housework into the golden tripod, and the appearance of the year will grow new. If you hope so, you will always be halal. It can be seen that the concept of "halal", in Li Bai's view, originally means that people have maintained their true and simple natural nature, which is endowed by heaven and is not influenced by the secular. Li Bai sometimes uses "purity" or "truth" to express the concept of "halal";
It represents the natural nature and mental state with Taoist color. "Zhuangzi Fisherman" said: "It is not easy for the true self to be so influenced by heaven. Therefore, the sage's law is precious and true, and it is not limited to vulgarity. " "Jane" means "truth" and "truth" means nature; "Loose" will be "distorted" and lose its nature.
Li Bai's philosophy is obviously influenced by Taoist thoughts such as "natural inaction", "truth" and "simplicity". His thought is reflected in his view of literature and art, which naturally shows a kind of natural beauty that pursues halal nature and does not care about carving. For example, when he talked about the art of calligraphy in Cursive Song, he said: "Zhang Dian died of old age, so I learned this meaning. Since ancient times, everything is precious to nature. Why should Gong Sundaniang dance? " "raw" means naive and natural, without gouges. When talking about the beauty of music, Li Bai likes to use the word "Qing" to describe the beauty of nature, such as "Song Qing", "Qing Sheng", "Qing Yue", "Qing Chui", "Qing Xian" and "Qing Qin", all of which are commonly used by Li Bai.
It can be seen that Li Bai's poetic aesthetic thought of advocating halal nature is consistent with his philosophical thought and artistic aesthetic taste. As a way of life, Li Bai pursues truth, freedom and natural inaction; As an artistic aesthetic creation, Li Bai pursues halal nature without carving. This pursuit has been fully demonstrated in Li Bai's life path and artistic practice.