The four poems in The Book of Songs, Guan Ju, Jian Jia, Decline and Zi Jia, are all beautiful, especially Jian Jia, "The so-called Iraqi people are on the water side", which is very beautiful.
However, in different times, the aesthetics of The Book of Songs are also different, which is related to the mainstream thoughts of different times. In modern society, with the improvement of self-awareness, people are valued as individuals, and literary works based on individual feelings can be praised by people. So we will think that poems like Jia Xu and Guan Ju are better and more beautiful.
The views of the ancients were different from ours. Shi Shuo Xin Yu recorded a conversation between Xie An and his nephew Xie Xuan about The Book of Songs. Xie An asked Xie Xuan: Which sentence in the Book of Songs do you think is the best? Xie Xuan answered: Before, I was gone, but now I'm thinking, it's raining. Xie Xuan's answer won my heart. This poem, written by Xiaoya Cai Wei, is extremely beautiful in terms of words and artistic conception. It is the most beautiful poem in the Book of Songs in the minds of many people today. But Xie An disagreed. The best poem in his mind is: It's too late to tell the truth. "It is said that this sentence is somewhat elegant and profound."
I guess everyone's reaction is the same as mine-what the hell, what's good about it! This awkward poem comes from "Ya-Restraint", which means that the country's major policies should be formulated in time, and everyone will be informed when they are finalized. Well, even if you know the meaning and the source, you can't understand what's so good about it. What's more, is this comparable to "I am going, and the willows are yiyi"?
It turns out that in Xie An's mind, or in the mainstream values of ancient times, the beauty of a poem is not an important criterion to judge whether it is good or not. Not only the Book of Songs, but also later poems. So what are the important criteria? It is enlightenment. A poem must first conform to the mainstream values, be politically correct, and be able to correct the world and people's hearts. Only in this way can it be called a good poem. If the wording is more beautiful on this basis, it is of course icing on the cake. If the wording is not so beautiful, it doesn't hurt. Even well-written poems will affect the evaluation of them, such as Li Shangyin, whose poems are highly praised by people for their unique hazy beauty today, but in the long history when Neo-Confucianism dominated, the evaluation of Li Shangyin's poems was not high.
Let's talk about why Xie An thinks it's good to urge Mo Ye instead of telling Chen, because it is said that this is Wei Wugong's satirical work and takes it as a warning. It is said that Wei Wugong was 95 years old when he wrote this poem. At this age, he was still worried about the country and the people and encouraged himself to protect himself. What a glorious image this is, what a noble virtue it is, far higher than "I passed, and the willow is Yi Yi"!
Xie An's talk with his sons and nephews about The Book of Songs is by no means idle, nor is it to improve the literary attainments of the next generation. This is to practice the educational function of poetry and let young people accept mainstream values in a subtle way. Therefore, it is not difficult to understand that Xie An talked about the Book of Songs more than once in Shi Shuo Xin Yu. He also asked his niece Xie Daowen to talk about the same question: Which poem is the best in The Book of Songs? Xie Daowen's answer is: Ji Fu intones, as silent as the breeze, and the clock will always be treasured to comfort the soul. This poem is from Ya-Ren. It is about sending a bell on a business trip, and the minister wrote a poem to send the bell away, praising the selection and employment of people, which revitalized it. We can't imagine that young women in literature and art now have such strange literary hobbies. However, as the first talented woman in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Xie Daowen's political talent actually far exceeds that of her peers. I believe Xie An will be even bigger after hearing this answer, "to comfort his heart".
Then, as the responsible editor of The Book of Songs-Confucius, does his old gentleman agree with Xie An's opinion? I think he might agree. Because in "The Analects of Confucius-Two Treatments", he personally said: Poetry is 300, in a word, thinking is innocent. In other words, the role of The Book of Songs is to guide politicians to be aboveboard and impartial.
However, there are many love poems in The Book of Songs, such as Guan Ju and Zi Heng. Isn't this all made up by Confucius? What does this have to do with enlightenment? Confucius also explained it this way. Confucius said in The Analects of Confucius-Eight-legged essay (yì): Guan Ju is happy but not lewd, and sad but not hurt. Prostitution refers to excesses and excesses, that is, happiness and sadness are moderate, not excessive. This poem does describe the love between men and women, but its original intention is to encourage everyone to learn from one of the gentlemen's ways of dealing with emotions: joy without lewdness, sadness without injury. This is the golden mean that Confucianism values most. So is Ji Zi.
Although most people agree, it is likely that there are still a few people who disagree. If Confucius also participated in the discussion of Xie 'an family, I think he would say to Xie 'an: It means well, but you are too pedantic.
Confucius is a cheerful and lively old gentleman. He emphasizes education as well as rhetoric, which is very aesthetic. He once asked his disciples about their aspirations. Some people say they want to govern the country and ensure national security, while others say they want to educate the people. Ceng Dian has been playing the piano beside him. Seeing that the teacher was asking him, he stopped playing the piano and said: In late spring, after the spring clothes were finished, five or six people won the championship, six or seven boys bathed in interpretation, the wind was dancing, and they left singing. How beautiful! On that day in late spring, spring ploughing has been completed. I went swimming in the Yihe River with five or six adults and six or seven teenagers, then went to the dancing stage to let the wind dry our bodies, and finally went home to sing. Confucius sighed: I am also fate. I agree with Ceng Dian!
Such a Confucius, I don't think he would say that the best poem is "Xu Mo's destiny is far more than abstinence". After all, what he put at the beginning of the Book of Songs is a beautiful and lively "Guan Ju"! Confucius did advocate that poetry should educate people, but he did not oppose human nature. Love poems are love poems, although they can have more functions.
However, later Confucianism became more and more pedantic. They deduced from "parents' orders and matchmakers' words" that the Book of Songs could not describe free love. Therefore, Guanluo is not a love poem. My Fair Lady represents virtue and kings, and describes a gentleman's pursuit of virtue and yearning for a virtuous gentleman.
Okay, what about the purple stripe? How to explain "green flowers haunt my heart" and "if I don't see you for a day, it's like March" Alas, Old Master Q can really explain these things, and explain them quite properly. When the answers are published in the next issue, please open your eyes and think about what Jpua would be if it were not a love poem.