People first put forward the concepts of Fu, Bi and Xing: "Master ... taught six poems: Yue Feng, Yuefu, Lebi, Lexing, Leya and Song Yue." Later, Zheng Xuan, a Confucian scholar in the Han Dynasty, explained the concepts of Fu, Bi and Xing earlier in the Preface to Poetry written by the Han people, which had great influence: "The direct biography of Fu reveals the good and evil of today's politics and religion; Than, see today's loss, dare not denounce, take metaphor; Xing, seeing the beauty of today, is too flattering, and advises it with kindness. "From these words, although Zheng also thinks that Fu, Bi and Xing are three different forms of expression of poetry, they are limited by the prejudice of Confucian scholars and think that the main difference when they are applied to" poetry teaching "lies in the different division of labor. In his view, compared with harmony and prosperity, one is used to complain and the other is used to praise beauty, both of which have implicit characteristics; Fu, on the other hand, seems to be "both good and evil" and is characterized by "straightness", that is, straightforwardness. Obviously, the focus of Zheng Xuan's words is to explain the different applications of poetry in politics and religion, rather than the characteristics of artistic methods. It was Zhu in the Song Dynasty who really interpreted it as an artistic technique and had a great influence. His explanation is: "He who tells the truth is the one who tells the truth about Chen Qi. Compare, compare this thing with another. If you are excited, you will say something else first to arouse the words you are reciting. " He followed Zheng's theory, but developed and revised it. Regardless of comparison and prosperity, from the interpretation of "fu", Zheng's explanation can be understood as directly preaching the so-called good and evil; Zhu's explanation not only focuses on the means of expression, but also adds the word "its matter", that is to say, "Fu" as a means of expression has to lay out specific things and specific things. He also thinks that "Fu" is "outspoken", but it is obviously relative to the latter two.
Zhu's statement is an important revision of Zhengxuan, which is more in line with the reality of poetry expression in The Book of Songs and is more conducive to explaining the artistic characteristics of poetry in The Book of Songs. Of course, Zhu's statement also inherited some previous explorations. For example, Liu Xie in the Qi and Liang Dynasties not only wrote Bi Xing Pian in Wen Xin Diao Long, but also talked about Fu, Bi and Xing in his interpretation of Fu Pian (this paper mainly discusses the "Fu" style that arose in the Han Dynasty): "Poetry has six meanings, followed by Fu. Givers, stores, stores, articles, and objects. " "Paving writing" means paving writing words and literary talent; "Writing with things" is to express the author's thoughts and wishes by writing concrete things. Zhong Rong's "Preface to Poetry" said: "The text has been exhausted and the meaning is more than enough, and it is also full; Because things are metaphorical, they are better than others; Straight books, fable writing, and fu also. " Zhi Shu is relative to Bi Xing, but it is not an abstract exposition, but a description of specific things. "Fable writing" is to express the ideas in words and images. The above can be explained, before Zhu; Literary critics in the Six Dynasties corrected their interpretation of "Fu" (including Bixing, of course) which was different from that of Han people, and Zhu's theory of "handling" came from this. It is worth noting that Hu Yin, who was almost contemporary with Zhu at the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, once quoted an incisive sentence in a letter: "A poet must distinguish his meaning. Such as Fu, Bi and Xing, there are many ancient and modern theorists, but Li from Henan is the most important. It is said that the narrative of things is endowed with words and feelings, and feelings are everything; Seeking things is the ratio of pleading, and affection is attached to things; Touching things with emotion is called prosperity, and those who have feelings are also. " ("Brilliant Anthology" Volume 8. Wang Yinglin's Notes on Sleepiness (Volume III) and Wang Shizhen's Yi Yuan's Last Words (Volume I) have been cited. Li believes that "Fu" can not only be explained by "narrative", but also "Fu" is "lyrical" through narrative. His explanation is that from the relationship between things and feelings, the essence of Fu, Bi and Xing is the same, that is, they are all artistic methods in the Book of Songs and general poetry creation, and they all express the poet's feelings through the description of things and the capture of objects. Later, it was publicly suggested that Zhu's statement was not perfect. For example, in the Qing Dynasty, Li Zhonghua said in "The Theory of One True Zhai Shi":
Designating it as "telling the truth about Chen Qi" is a simple explanation. It should be noted that the beauty of chemical industry lies in its isomorphism with things. Therefore, since Qu and Song Dynasties, the composition of physical objects has been called "Fu", that is, the meaning of shaping things.
The so-called "shaping with things" is actually to describe the image according to objective things, that is to say, "Fu", as one of the artistic expressions of poetry, is not divorced from the image. In today's words, this means that it is also thinking in images. For many explanations in history, this is indeed simpler and more accurate, and it is more in line with the reality of the works of the Book of Songs and even the creation of all poems.
People who have been reading and studying The Book of Songs have always referred to Fu, Bi and Xing as the same category, but in fact they pay more attention to comparison and Xing than to Fu. For those ancient literati, this is probably because they like to interpret poetry detached and always want to associate poetry with satire and enlightenment. The relatively prosperous feature just opens the door for them, that is, they can leave poetry and do what they need. For example, the book of songs begins with a poem "Guan Ju", which is undoubtedly about love and acacia, while "Mao Chuan" says:
Xingya. Customs clearance, harmony also; Pheasant dove, Wang pheasant also. Birds are different. ..... Empress said that the virtue of being a gentleman is harmony without lewdness. Cautious and deep, if you are different, then you can withstand the world. If a couple is different, their father and son are close, their father and son respect each other, and their respect for each other is only for the court, which is in Wang Huacheng regularly.
Jian Zheng also said: "Sincere words are also true. When it comes to Wang Wei's birds, they are very affectionate, but there are differences between men and women." "Xing" does have the nature of association, but these scribes used this method in the art of poetry and made great works to promote feudal views.
Later, some people with literary views thought that poetry should be given equal attention to Fu, Bi and Xing. For example, Zhong Rong advocates that "it is the ultimate goal of poetry to take the macro-three meanings (according to the meaning of xing, bi and fu), and to take the wind as the stem, so that those who taste it are infinite and those who smell it are tempted" (Preface to Poetry). Liu Xie's interpretation of Fu in Wen Xin Diao Long is about Fu after the Han Dynasty, but he thinks that Fu literature comes from the six meanings of poetry and says in his praise: "Fu comes from poetry and has different schools. Writing and painting are just like carving. " Referring to his explanation that poetry has six meanings and the second meaning is fu, it can be proved that he does not despise fu, especially the characteristics and functions of fu as one of the artistic methods to form literary images. But there are also some people who look down on "Fu" although they are basically Fu, Bi and Xing in terms of artistic methods. In the Ming Dynasty, Li Dongyang once said in "Poems of Huailutang":
Poetry has three meanings, giving priority to it, and comparing and prospering to it. The so-called comparison and prosperity are all those who hold things and love them. It is easy to get tired and difficult to feel when the cover is straight; Only by expressing, describing and imitating, and repeatedly satirizing can people wait for their self-satisfaction. If the words and meanings are endless, then the gods will fly around unconsciously. This poem is expensive because it ignores the facts.
In the Qing Dynasty, Wuqiao completely opposed Fu, comparison and prosperity. He said: "Bi and Xing are empty sentences, while Fu is dead." "What you do is endless." ("Poems around the Furnace", Volume 1) They think that Fu only pays attention to facts and lacks emotion, which is a dead sentence. If we understand "Fu" in this way, then "Fu" is not only not one of the artistic methods, but also should be avoided when writing poetry. On the one hand, their understanding of "Fu" is still influenced by the interpretation of "Fu" by traditional scholars; On the other hand, their interpretation of Bi Xing has gone beyond the original concept that Bi Xing is "the ratio of one thing to another" and "Xing is a word to stimulate others to sing first", but has developed Bi Xing into the whole poetic artistic conception such as "meaning beyond the image" and "endless meaning". But in any case, their understanding of "Fu" as a poetic expression is incorrect.
If we look at the poetic expression of The Book of Songs realistically, we can say that Fu is rich and common in Fu, Bi and Xing, and it constitutes the main body of the poetic expression of The Book of Songs. Although the use of metaphor and xing is a major feature of folk songs in The Book of Songs, it only plays a rhetorical role, which is not as great as some people exaggerate. So Xie Zhen of the Ming Dynasty once said:
Hong Xingzu said: Three Hundred Essays is not as good as Fu, and Li Sao is not as good as Fu. "300 items" to be tested: 720,370,110. What Hong said is wrong. (Four Kinds of Poems, Volume II)
No matter whether the statistics are accurate or not, if poetry is based on Fu, Bi and Xing, Fu in 300 poems is the main body, and the figures of Bi and Xing add up to less than Fu, which is certain. If we face up to this situation, we should not ignore "Fu" when dissecting the artistic techniques of The Book of Songs, but make an accurate explanation of "Fu" and make an in-depth study of it.
In fact, if we look at it with the methods of Fu, Bi and Xing, many famous articles in The Book of Songs belong to the category of Ye Fu. Long poems, such as famous epics and allegorical poems such as July, Dongshan and Ya; Short poems, such as The Serviceman, Cut Tan, jiaozi, Naked Clothes, etc. , are directly lyrical, picturesque and narrative. For example, the poem "July in Qi Feng" can be regarded as a long poem with the color of a custom picture scroll. It describes the life of ancient peasants according to the change of seasonal phenology, and reflects the true face of class society by means of comparison, which not only reflects the depth of social life, but also has strong artistic generalization. Dongshan describes the mood and feelings of a soldier who has served for a long time on his way home, with memories of the past, nostalgia for his hometown and wife, and a description of the hardships of the journey. The plot is tortuous and touching. Several famous national epics of Daya, such as Gongliu and Mian. It tells a simple story about the ancient history of the birth and entrepreneurship of Zhou people. The poem "Gong Liu" describes the joy of Zhou people when they first arrived in the land: "Time is everywhere, traveling in Shandong; At that time, at that time. " Mian describes the arduous pioneering and vigorous labor scene when Zhou people settled in different places;
Called Sikong, called Stuart; Give a room home, its rope is straight. Reduce the back of the version and make it into a temple wing.
What have you done, what have you done, what have you done, what have you built, what have you done; All obstacles are prosperous, and drums win.
It is really poor and colorful. The poem "Nan Zhou slug" describes the collection activities of ancient women, and in the form of repeated collection, it shows the endless joy of harvest and labor from less to more. The poem "The Peak Woman", which describes the love between men and women, vividly describes the psychology and feelings of the characters with dramatic scenes and some details. "Love without seeing, scratching your head", wrote the naughty teasing of girls and the anxiety of men; "Bandit (non-) women (you) are beautiful, but beauty hinders them", which is a pun on men's feelings and infatuation with women by praising flowers and plants sent by women. The famous patriotic poem "Qin Feng has no clothes", in the tone of question and answer, wrote unity and friendship, * * * enthusiasm for the enemy, and so on. Some of these works are methodical and vivid. Some narratives are lyrical, psychologically profound and vivid, and the language is touching.
In short, if poetry is described by Fu, Bi and Xing, "Fu" is also a rich means of expression, which deserves our serious and concrete exploration. When I say this, I don't mean to belittle the artistic power of comparison and prosperity. I just think that "Fu" should be accurately interpreted and discussed in depth. In fact, fu, bi and xing are some generalizations of the ancient people's expressions of the Book of Songs and ancient poems. We can also use these traditional ideas, but we also need to see that China's ancient poems, including The Book of Songs, are very rich in artistic expressions. We should constantly study and summarize it on a broader and deeper basis, which is very necessary to improve our literary history and literary theory level.