With the recovery of traditional culture, more and more friends like ancient poetry. However, when we appreciate ancient poems, we often encounter some puzzling places.
Laojie believes that ancient poetry can be roughly divided into three types according to the degree of understanding. The first one can be understood at a glance; Second, you can only understand it after reading the notes; The third, thinking that you can understand it at a glance, is actually another mystery.
First, ancient poetry that can be understood at a glance
Bai Juyi has a story that an old woman can solve. It is said that every time he writes a poem, he shows it to an old woman. If she doesn't understand it, Bai Juyi will revise it until he can understand it.
There are indeed many works in ancient poetry that can be understood at a glance. For example, we have studied Wang Luobin's Ode to Goose since childhood:
Goose Goose, Xiang Tiange. White feathers, floating in green water; The red soles of the feet stir the clear water.
Another example is Li Bai's "Silent Night Thinking":
The foot of my bed is shining so brightly. Is there frost already? I looked up at the moon and looked down, feeling nostalgic.
Another example is Bai Juyi's Seven Laws "Qiantang Spring Tour":
From the north side of Gushan Temple to the west side of Jiating, the lake is just level with the embankment, with low clouds and waves on the lake.
Several early orioles raced to the sunny tree, and their new swallows were carrying mud in their nests.
Colorful spring flowers will gradually fascinate people's eyes, and shallow spring grass can barely cover the horseshoe.
I love the beauty on the east bank of the West Lake, and I can't get enough of it, especially the white sand embankment under the green poplar.
These easy-to-understand poems need no comment. It is not much different from our language expression today, and it is clear at a glance.
The same is true of words. There are many works that are very easy to understand, such as Li Qingzhao's Dream:
I often remember the pavilion by the stream next to the pavilion until the sunset, intoxicated by the beautiful scenery and lingering. Always had a good time, but lost to the swimming pool deep in Zhu Feng. How to row a boat out, accidentally, but scared a group of Oulu.
There are also many works, which are as clear as words when they are long. For example, Su Shi's "Shuidiao Song Tou", in which Su Shi also wrote a small preface, telling the creative background:
Chen Bing Mid-Autumn Festival, happily drank the next morning, drunk, wrote this word, and missed my brother Su Zhe.
Its word cloud:
When did the moon begin to appear? I take my glass from a distance. I don't know the palace in the sky, and I don't know the month and time. I'm willing to ride the wind to the sky, I'm afraid I can't stand the cold for nine days in a pavilion of fine jade. Dance to find out what shadows look like on the earth.
The moon turned into a scarlet pavilion, hanging low on the carved window, shining on the sleepy self. The moon should not have any resentment against people. Why is it round when people are gone? People are sad and happy, and they are separated and reunited. The moon will darken or shine, and it will become round or round. Nothing is perfect, even in the past. I hope people will live for a long time and have a good scenery thousands of miles away.
Second, we need to look at the annotations of ancient poems.
Wang Guowei put forward the problem of separation and non-separation in "thorns on earth"
1, allusions and characters
Many poets lost their books and used many allusions. If you don't read your notes, you can't understand what he is saying. For example, Xin Qiji's "Yong Yu Le Jing Kou Gu Bei Ting Nostalgia":
Throughout the ages, heroes can't find Sun Zhongmou. Dancing in the pavilion, singing on the platform, wind and rain always blow away romantic feelings. The setting sun shines on the grassland covered with grass and trees. People say that this was once the place where Emperor Wu of Song lived. Looking back, how powerful he was when he led the Northern Expedition and recovered lost ground!
However, Li Liu Yi Long, the son of Liu Wang Yilong, was a great success and made a swift northern expedition. Instead, he made the Northern Wei Emperor Wu Tuoba fly south and returned to the north bank of the Yangtze River, which was severely hit by his opponent. I have been back to the south for forty-three years, and I still remember the war scenes in Yangzhou. Looking back, there was a crow club drum under the beaver temple. Who can ask: Lian Po is too old to eat?
Most people in Sun Zhongmou and Lian Po know it, but who are slaves? Who's the beaver? What does Yuanjia Cao Cao mean?
There are so many allusions to this word, but some people are not as famous as Sun Quan and Lian Po. Most readers need to read notes to understand the story background of these people.
Beaver, bí lí, fine print of Tuoba Tao in Northern Wei Dynasty. Implies the king of Jin who invaded the Song Dynasty from the south.
The slave was sent by posthumous title of Song Wudi. The Northern Expedition is invincible.
Cao Cao in Yuanjia refers to the story of Song Wendi Liu Yilong, son of Emperor Wu of Song, who failed in the Northern Expedition during Yuanjia period. Tuoba Tao almost crossed the Yangtze River south.
2. Rhetoric.
Others, it is the rhetoric that causes confusion. For example, Lin Bu's two poems:
Grass mud line Guo suo, cloud wood is called hook _.
Crossing the rope is a gesture, a way for crabs to crawl. Hook _ is that voice, that voice called partridge. This is a metonymic way, using onomatopoeia and descriptive words to refer to animals.
We don't use this word to describe crabs and partridges today, which is the gap caused by different language expressions.
Another example is Bai Juyi's suggestion to my friend Liu:
There is a glimmer of green in the old bottle and a hint of red in the quiet stove.
With dusk and snow coming, how about a glass of wine?
This poem must be easy to understand in ancient times, because green ants represent wine, and everyone knew it at that time. But modern people don't have the habit of this pronoun. I may use Qingdao or Yanjing to refer to beer, and Maotai and Wuliangye to refer to liquor.
Third, I think I understand, but I don't necessarily understand.
There is also a phenomenon that works that we think are easy to understand are actually mysterious. Without understanding the creative background, language and social environment at that time, it is difficult to understand the author's true meaning.
For example, Li Shangyin's Longtan in the Tang Dynasty.
Longchi gave wine to open the cloud screen, and the drums stopped.
The midnight banquet returned to the palace forever, and Wang Xue woke up drunk.
The last sentence of Wang Xue's Drunk Wake seems simple and clear, but it is full of irony. Why is Wang Xue drunk and Shouwang sober?
Because just now, at the Longchi banquet, Yang Yuhuan, the female host with infinite scenery, used to be the princess of Shouwang, but now she has become the stepmother of Shouwang. Do you think he can keep the same mood as Wang Xue when drinking?
People who know this history will naturally understand it at first glance. People who don't understand this background may just stay at the superficial meaning of this poem, thinking that Li Shangyin just wrote an ordinary dinner party.
On the other hand, the poet used code words in his works. The ancients said: To make poetry work, as Zen said: I don't know if there is salt in the water, but I know the taste of salt when drinking water.
When using Ming Dian, readers don't understand allusions, just like building a wall in front, they can't get through without knocking it down. If you use the secret code, you can go without knowing it, and it seems that you can enjoy the poem according to your own understanding.
For example, Zhou Bida, the prime minister of the Southern Song Dynasty, once wrote a poem for Zhu, "I have listened to it for many years and listened to it for many years, especially for this era":
Night rain smells fresh, and spring flowers see empty. I am proud to be a blind prime minister in the future. Now I am stupid, deaf and rich.
Zhou Bida said that he was old, deaf and blind, so he called himself an idiot, deaf and blind prime minister. It seems that the old man is laughing at his physical condition.
However, this blind prime minister actually used the allusions of the Tang Dynasty massacre. Guan Bo recommended the fool Li Yuanping to resist the rebel Li Xilie. As a result, Li Xilie thought it was an insult, so he cursed Guan Bo as a blind prime minister.
At that time, many people admired or recommended by Zhou Bida were persecuted and suppressed by Han Zhou, so Zhou Bida laughed at himself as a blind prime minister.
On the surface, this poem says that he is old, but in fact it alludes to the political affairs at that time.
Another example is Zhu Qingyu's poem "Testing Water Department", his poem "Yin Jiefu, Send Dongping Li Shidao" and Wang's poem "Water White Lotus", which literally means one thing, but actually means another.
Concluding remarks
Is there any reason for the above three ancient poems summarized by Laojie?
Ancient poetry from primary school to university textbooks is actually selected from simple to abstruse. Most of the ancient poems in primary school textbooks are in the first case, and the difficulty will gradually increase in the future.
In reading and understanding many poems, we should not only understand allusions, but also combine historical environment and creative background to truly understand the author's intention.
Laojie taste
Old Street tastes three Nanxiangzi songs. By the way, compare the differences of three commonly used word spectra.