For poets who have written for a long time, poetry is an expression of their feelings, so stopping writing poetry must be a change in their feelings and experiences. Then Gong Zizhen, who can write the poem "Falling red is not a heartless thing, but turning into spring mud can protect flowers better", has also experienced a very fluctuating creative mentality, that is, "stop poetry-stop it-stop poetry-stop it again". Then why does Gong Zizhen have such a complicated creative mentality? What the hell was he thinking?
1. When and why did "poetry of abstinence" appear? 1. When did this phenomenon appear?
In our impression, since it is creation, it is good to be creative without feeling. Why seal a pen, or break your own commandments? Was it very popular to abstain from poetry in ancient times? In fact, there are few historical records about the phenomenon of "abstaining from poetry" before the Song Dynasty. During the Han, Wei and Six Dynasties, famous artists came forth in large numbers.
It is precisely because some expressive skills of poetry, such as meter and rhyme, are gradually improving that emperors did not prohibit literati from writing, but they still respected and favored poetry, especially in the Tang Dynasty, when poetry and fu were regarded as important contents of the imperial examination. Therefore, it is unreasonable for literati to "abstain from poetry" in these periods.
Since the Northern Song Dynasty, there have been many phenomena of "abstaining from poetry". More rationally speaking, Cheng Yi "writes articles to harm people" and seldom writes poems in his life. Su Shi was also persuaded by his relatives and friends to "abstain from poetry" under the pressure of "literary inquisition", but in the Ming Dynasty, the phenomenon of literati taking the initiative to seal pens became more and more.
2. What effect did the imperial examination have on "abstaining from poetry"?
The imperial examination in the Tang Dynasty made Tang poetry popular all over the world. It can even be said that the imperial examination in the Tang Dynasty affected the fate of poetry creation, so the most prosperous period of poetry we know is the Tang Dynasty. In the Song Dynasty, although it was also influenced by the imperial examination, it also made some achievements, but it was not as good as the Tang Dynasty.
However, the implementation of the Imperial Examination in Yuan Dynasty was slow, and Lian Wenxue's creative center was all in traditional Chinese opera, so there were few poets like Tang Dynasty in Yuan Dynasty.
During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Neo-Confucianism in Zhu Cheng developed greatly, and the examination contents were very formalized, which bound the poetic sentiment of literati. Most people still have to take the imperial examination to get a part-time job. Therefore, during their marriage and career, that is, middle age, most literati will give up writing poems and concentrate on preparing for the imperial examinations.
When some elders exhort the younger generation, they will also regard poetry and songs as playthings, and devote themselves wholeheartedly to eight-part essay is the way to official career. The Qing dynasty also faced the pressure of imperial examinations. Here we can simply refer to Jia Zheng's exhortation to Jia Baoyu in A Dream of Red Mansions. Jia Baoyu plays among girls all day and doesn't care much about his career economy, which Jia Zheng hates most.
In fact, after they pass the imperial examination, they still have to cultivate their morality and make a living when they enter the official career, just as they want to break poetry and music.
Second, Gong Zizhen's repeated "abstinence poems" and "mental process of breaking the precepts" 1. Guan Xin made Gong Zizhen "quit poetry" for the first time during Jiaqing period.
In the twenty-fifth year of Jiaqing, Gong Zizhen wrote about the "four views" of Buddhism, that is, observing the mind. Gong Zizhen felt that some thoughts were complicated and wrote one new poem after another. These troubles made him unable to calm down and nothing could relieve his boredom, so he repented. In the process of his confession, he was dissatisfied with his creation, and his dissatisfaction was burned.
He felt that if his thoughts could calm down and be less complicated, he would have to overcome all the difficulties, just like "out of sight, out of mind", so Gong Zizhen started his first "abstaining from poetry" and wrote five related articles. Among them, Shu Hui, an iron army, generally said that Jiang Yuan "admonished" herself that "words are not needed".
Jiang Yuan thinks that Gong Zizhen has made great achievements in studying Buddhism and should "quit poetry" and concentrate on Buddhism. However, if you like one thing, how can you give it up completely? After the first year of Daoguang, Gong Zizhen could not keep the precepts. So Jiang Yuan also wrote to blame him, but Gong Zizhen said that he was influenced by foreign things and he could not really give up poetry completely. If he doesn't write poetry, he can't do it at all.
2. During the reign of Daoguang, he once again "resigned his poems".
However, in the seventh year of Daoguang, Gong Zizhen wrote a song, "Why are people unhappy in middle age?" Your mood is not empty. Personnel are getting dirty, and there are quite a few people who laugh alone. Once again, I feel that I should "resign poetry." He felt that although the outside world influenced him and had to create, the reality was really filthy and made him very miserable. Getting up every day is unbearable.
He believes that only Buddhists can clear their thoughts and calm themselves, so if they want to return to the realm of Buddhism, they must first get rid of their nostalgia for words, so Gong Zizhen once again "quit poetry."
3. Why did Gong Zizhen "abstain from poetry" and then "break it" painfully?
Poetry is a record of literati's emotional and mental journey in life. For literati, in the chaotic social life, the only thing that can pin their feelings is poetry creation. But the reality at that time was too dark, and the persecution of literati was also very serious. If this were not the case, Gong Zizhen would not "resign poetry" painfully.
Gong Zizhen's "abstinence from poetry" is also due to his obsession with Buddhism, so many people think that Gong Zizhen's "abstinence from poetry" is to give himself more time to study Buddhist classics, but this statement is not entirely correct. In fact, learning Buddhism only stays on the surface. In fact, both "abstaining from poetry" and "learning Buddhism" are aimed at getting rid of the cruelty of reality and calming down to solve their own life difficulties;
In the big environment, many people are looking for the future for themselves and are committed to the research of practical learning. Although Cheng Yi's theory of "writing is harmful to Taoism" has influenced many people, the biggest defect is that Gong Zizhen has not studied any Confucian classics since "abstaining from poetry".
His related poems also have an obvious tendency to reflect the characteristics of social reality and criticize political malpractice. His life after "abstaining from poetry" was completely devoted to Buddhism and epigraphy; During the feudal period, under centralization, the emperor's right to speak was the most important, and local officials could commit suicide in minutes.
Therefore, some people speculate that Gong Zizhen offended powerful people by writing poems, so he "refrained from poetry" to avoid disaster. In fact, this does not conform to Gong Zizhen's own personality characteristics. Gong Zizhen's rebellious thoughts and wild personality make it impossible for him to quit his hobbies because of avoiding disasters.
Third, the historical materials of the mental journey of "abstaining from poetry" have learned that Gong Zizhen's unique poetic environment is related to his own "heart disease". In the pre-Qin classics, we can know that the so-called "heart disease" refers to heart disease caused by excessive anxiety, while in the Tang Dynasty, "heart disease" refers to mental illness. So "heart disease" includes both psychological and physical aspects.
Then Gong Zizhen's "heart disease" is more of a psychological negative impact. Middle-aged people are under great pressure, the imperial examinations have failed one after another, and their careers are difficult. It bothers the poet and makes him worry constantly, making it difficult to sleep, thus "heart disease" leads to "physical illness". Gong Zizhen's 50-year-old "sudden illness donation" is probably related to his "heart disease".
In many of Gong Zizhen's poems, "tears" appear many times. For Gong Zizhen, "tears" are the controlling force of "poetry". The ancients thought that stealth was usually at night, but many of Gong Zizhen's poems were written in his dreams at night, so these uncontrollable behaviors in his dreams could easily be attributed to stealth and poetry creation, so they were called "poems".
In such a feudal environment, it is natural to think that burning can clear this pain, so there is a record of Gong Zizhen burning his own works. "Poetic God" has a profound influence on Gong Zizhen. After he stopped writing poems, he devoted himself to studying Buddhism. In the twenty-five years of Jiaqing, Gong Zizhen was distracted and wrote many new poems, but the poet could not control his "poetic spirit" and moved the idea of "abstaining from poetry".
Buddhism can defeat "poetry" accordingly, so Gong Zizhen quit poetry and went to learn Buddhism, so that Buddhism can defeat "poetry" in her heart. From Gong Zizhen's complicated mental journey, we can see the painful struggle in Gong Zizhen's thought, the tragic character of an advanced molecule in that era, and the tortuous background of the times.
Fourth, to sum up, poetry is actually an echo of one's soul. Scholars with rich emotions and thinking outside the box will create many good poems. Social environment will affect the psychological changes of poets. If you are always influenced by the outside world, whether you are forced to abstain from poetry or actively study Buddhism, you can't clear the poet's inner confusion.
If he can let go of his worries about the outside world and just enjoy his happy life, he will naturally not be upset by poetry, nor will he deliberately quit poetry.
But in fact, it is not difficult to see that Gong Zizhen had no other way to respond to the latent crisis of that era, the country and society, and the decadence of the whole environment, forcing him to impose a sense of social responsibility on himself, so that he could continue to write poetry and break contact. Although Gong Zizhen was defeated in the final battle of "Poetry" and "Heart Disease", he had to admit that the most tenacious part of his life was not to give up the world.
Our nation is a tenacious one. From the forced opening of the country in the late Qing Dynasty to the eight-year war of resistance against Japan, and then to the difficulties faced after liberation, our nation actively faced and bravely responded. This is the national integrity of a country, which is worth advocating and carrying forward.
It's a pity that Gong Zizhen lives in such a dangerous age, and the virus has not been eliminated yet, so facing such complicated psychological changes of Gong Zizhen can give us some enlightenment. Young people nowadays, if they want to work together, it won't be very hard.