Pre-Qin
Song Yu, a writer of poems and poems from Chu State in the late Warring States Period. Regarding Song Yu's life, according to "Historical Records: Biography of Qu Yuan and Jia Sheng": "After Qu Yuan's death, there were disciples of Song Yu, Tang Le and Jing Chai in Chu, all of whom were good at rhetoric and famous for their poems. However, they were all descended from Qu Yuan. He spoke calmly, but never dared to give direct advice." The description is very brief. "Han Shi Wai Zhuan" says that "Song Yu met the Prime Minister of Chu because of his friends." Liu Xiang's "New Preface" says "Song Yu met King Xiang of Chu because of his friend" and "served King Xiang of Chu without noticing". At the same time, he also said "King Wei of Chu (grandfather of King Xiang) asked Song Yu" . Wang Yi said in "Chu Ci Zhangju" that he was a disciple of Qu Yuan. The "Old Biography of Xiangyang Qi" written by Xi Chizhi in the Jin Dynasty also said: "Song Yu was a native of Yan in Chu, so there was Song Yu in Yicheng. He first served Qu Yuan, who was exiled and asked to serve his friends in Chu." In short. ,There are different opinions about Song Yu's life, and it is difficult to tell. Generally speaking, Song Yu was born after Qu Yuan, and came from a humble background, and was quite unsuccessful in his official career.
Song Yu's works were first recorded in "Hanshu Yiwenzhi", with 16 works. It is now said that the two chapters "Nine Bian" and "Calling Souls" written by him can be found in Wang Yi's "Chu Ci Chapters"; "Feng Fu", "Gaotang Fu", "Goddess Fu", and "Dengtuzi Lustful Fu" , "Asking the King of Chu" 5 articles, found in Xiao Tong's "Selected Works"; "Flute Fu", "Dayan Fu", "Xiaoyan Fu", "Satiric Fu", "Diao Fu", "Dance Fu" 6 articles, It can be found in Zhang Qiao's "Gu Wen Yuan"; 3 articles, "Gaotang Dui", "Wei Yong Fu" and "Ying Zhong Dui", can be found in Liu Jie's "Selected Guangwen" of the Ming Dynasty. However, among these works, there is a mixture of authenticity and falsehood, and the only one that is credible and unobjectionable is "Nine Bian". "The Soul Conjuring" is quite controversial, and is generally believed to be written by Qu Yuan. Others, such as "Gaotang Fu", "Goddess Fu", "Dengtuzi Luose Fu", "Feng Fu" and other chapters, some people think that they were not written by Song Yu, but their status in the history of literature is still quite important.
"Nine Debates" is a long lyric poem that uses the tragic autumn to express the "injustice" of "poor people who neglect their duties" and to a certain extent exposes the darkness of reality. The poet's feelings are sincere, but not as intense and persistent as Qu Yuan's, and his mood is relatively low-key. The theme of sad autumn and the lyrical technique of borrowing scenery in the poem had a profound impact on the poetry creation of later generations. Since Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty's "Autumn Wind Ci", such as Cao Pi's "Yan Ge Xing", Cao Zhi's "Autumn Thoughts", Xia Houzhan's "Autumn Can Be Sorrowful", "Autumn Evening Sorrow", Jiang Qiu's "Ode to Autumn", Zhan Fangsheng "Autumn Night Poems" by He Jin, "Sad Autumn Night" by He Jin, etc., are all in the same vein as "Nine Bian". Since then, there have been many authors.
"Gaotang Fu", "Goddess Fu", "Dengtuzi Lustful Fu" and other chapters use rich imagination and elaboration techniques to depict women's expressions and physical appearance, which also produced a phenomenon in the history of literature. Certain impact. This type of work may originate from the tradition of begging for a girl from heaven in "Li Sao", but it contains more wandering emotions and less satirical meaning. After the Han Dynasty, such as Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty's "Mrs. Li's Fu", Sima Xiangru's "Beauty Fu", Cao Zhi's "Luo Shen Fu", Xie Lingyun's "Jiang Fei Fu", etc., all originated from this; to Liang and Chen Jian in the Southern Dynasties, more It evolved into the last stream of palace style and erotic poetry. An article called "Feng Fu" contrasts the "majestic style of the king" with the "feminine style of the common people" and describes the differences in life between the rulers and the common people. Although it is an entertainment article, it has some satirical meaning. The way of writing is also inspiring to future generations of writers.
Although Song Yu's achievements are difficult to compare with Qu Yuan's, he is the direct successor of Qu Yuan's poetry and art. In his works, the description of objects tends to be delicate and meticulous, and the combination of lyricism and scene description is natural and appropriate. It plays a link between the past and the future between Chu Ci and Han Fu. Later generations often refer to him as Qu Song, which shows Song Yu's status in the history of literature.
(Jiang Liangfu)