What are the characteristics of Guan Ju's appreciation of The Book of Songs (1), which can be regarded as a model to show the virtue of husband and wife? First of all, the love it writes has a clear marriage purpose from the beginning, and finally comes down to a happy marriage, rather than a short encounter or a temporary passion between young men and women. This kind of love, which clearly points to marriage and shows responsibility, is more recognized by society. Secondly, it describes men and women as gentlemen and ladies, indicating that this is a combination associated with virtue. A gentleman has both status and virtue, while a gentle and graceful lady also has physical beauty and virtue. The combination of a gentleman and a lady here represents an ideal marriage. Third, it is the restraint of love behavior written in poetry. After careful reading, it can be noted that although this poem is about the man's pursuit of the woman, it does not involve direct contact between the two sides at all. Of course, a lady doesn't act. A gentleman's lovesickness is just a matter of tossing and turning, climbing walls and breaking willows. It doesn't seem to occur to him that love is very disciplined. Such a kind of love is both true and affectionate (which is very important for love poems), peaceful and measured, and will not be too intense for readers. All these characteristics are probably related to the fact that this poem was originally a noble wedding song. On that occasion, an atmosphere of restraint and joy commensurate with the status of the host is needed. Confucius saw a kind of beauty of neutralization with wide significance, which advocated his attitude towards life of self-denial and self-respect, and attached importance to moral cultivation. Preface to Mao Poetry promoted it as a moral teaching material that can correct the couple. The perspectives of the two are somewhat different, but there are still fundamental similarities.
There are profound reasons why ancient Confucian scholars attached importance to the virtue of husband and wife. In the first sense, the family is the basic unit of social organization. In ancient times, the harmony and stability of this basic unit was of great significance to the harmony and stability of the whole social order. In the second sense, the so-called virtue of husband and wife actually refers to all aspects related to men and women. Eat drink man woman, man's greatest desire is survival (reading notes, Liu Yun), and Confucius also knows that this is the basic requirement of human survival. The desire to eat and drink is relatively simple (of course, there must be food first), while the emotional activities triggered by men's and women's desires are much more complicated, active and intense, which is also much more harmful to living standards and social order. Old Master Q once sighed: I have never seen the good virtue of a good lover. (The Analects of Confucius) Therefore, all restraint and self-cultivation must first start from the desires of men and women. This is of course necessary, but how much restraint is appropriate is a complex issue, which involves the integration of social material production level, political structure, cultural tradition and other factors, as well as the changes of times conditions. When a society tries to take a completely negative attitude towards individual rights, severe prohibition will first appear in this respect. On the contrary, when a society is in a period of change and the old moral norms are destroyed, this will happen first. Back to Guanju, it praises a kind of love with restrained feelings, cautious behavior and harmonious marriage. Therefore, Confucianism believes that this is a good example and a textbook for couples to guide a wide range of virtues.
Appreciation of The Book of Songs (2) It is the first of the oldest' classic' books in China literature. Although judging from the nature, some fairy tales should have been produced earlier, as written records, it is a late thing. Therefore, it can almost be said that when we open the history of China literature, the first thing that catches our eye is Guan Ju.
Does the person who compiles The Book of Songs have any intention in the arrangement of poems? This is unknown. However, at least the understanding of later generations does not think that Guan Yu was randomly arranged from the beginning. Confucius mentioned the Book of Songs many times in The Analects of Confucius, but only one work made a specific evaluation. Guanju said it was interesting but not obscene, and sad but not hurtful. In his view, Guan Ju is a model of the golden mean. The Han Confucian Preface to Mao Poetry also said: "Wind" begins, so the wind is the world, and the couple are right. Therefore, it is necessary to use the country. This involves an ethical thought in ancient China: in the eyes of the ancients, husband and wife are the beginning of human relations, and all moral perfection in the world must be based on the virtue of husband and wife. The author of Preface to Mao Poems thinks that Guan Ju has exemplary significance in this respect, so he lists it as the beginning of Feng. Can be used to influence the world, not only for villagers, but also for ordinary people, for the country, that is, the ruling class. In this way, the meaning of Guan Yu is great! How true is this understanding? For the time being, let's start with the poem itself.
The content of Guanju is actually very simple. It's about a gentleman pursuing a lady. If he can't get a young lady, he is distressed and can't sleep over and over. I was very happy when I got a lady. I let people play music to celebrate and make women happy. The identity of the characters in the works is very clear: the gentleman is a general term for nobles in the era of the Book of Songs, and the music of harps, bells and drums equipped by this gentleman's family must have a considerable position. I used to interpret this poem as a folk love song, but I'm afraid it was wrong. It clearly depicts the life of the aristocratic class. Besides, it's good to say it's a love poem, but I'm afraid it's not an ordinary love poem. In my opinion, it turned out to be a wedding song, a compliment from the man's family, wishing the bride a happy marriage. Many ballads in The Book of Songs, National Style, have both general lyrical significance and entertainment functions, and are also practical in etiquette. However, it is not known what purpose some poems were originally given to future generations, so they are only regarded as ordinary songs. We regard Guanju as a wedding song. It is more appropriate to sing Guan Ju from the perspective of a lady who knows everything, a gentleman who likes dancing, and a friend who plays the piano and drums. Isn't it beaming, too?