Wang Wei's "Mrs. Xi": "Don't let yourself be favored by the present, so that you can forget the kindness of the past. Looking at the flowers brings tears, and you can't resist the words of the King of Chu." There are two things chanted in this poem. The first source is "Zuo Zhuan·The 14th Year of Duke Zhuang": "Chu Zi was like a breather, eating food to enjoy, and then he died. After resting, his wife returned, Du Ao was born, and he became the king. No words were said. Chu Zi asked. , said to him: "I am a woman, but I serve two husbands, even if I can die, how can I make fun of her?" The second is the fourth volume of "Biography of Lienu": "My wife is the wife of Xi Jun." , broke it, captured the king, sent the gatekeeper, and took his wife and his wife into the palace. The king of Chu went on a trip, and his wife went out to see Jun Xi and said to him: "Life is only about death, why should I suffer for myself? I don't need to spend a moment." But forgetting the king, it is better to live and die on the earth than to return to the earth! "... Then he committed suicide, and both of them died on the same day." Wang Wei's chant is based on " "Zuo Zhuan". However, the "Biography of Lienv" was also regarded as a reliable document in ancient times, so it was based on "Mrs. Xi" written by Wang Wei in the Song Dynasty earlier than Wang Wei's "Biography of Lieutenants". It says: "Pity Chu's broken heart, Mrs. Xi's heartbroken.
< p> Still a bone under the spring, not a concubine of the King of Chu. The King of Chu loves Mo Sheng, and the relationship between the king and the king is more intimate. Love and resentment will lead to death. "Obviously, "Zuo Zhuan" and "Lienu Zhuan" said. The Xi ladies in Zai were all worthy of sympathy, so later generations built a temple for her, which was called the "Peach Blossom Lady Temple". But relatively speaking, the image of Mrs. Xi recorded in "The Biography of Lienu" is more strong and steadfast, while the image of Mrs. Xi recorded in "Zuo Zhuan" is relatively weak. If you write a poem based on the latter, it will be difficult to word it. Du Mu of the late Tang Dynasty wrote in "Inscription on Lady Peach Blossom Temple": "New peach blossoms appeared in the slender palace, and the pulse was silent for several springs. The fate of death finally came to an end, and I pity the man who fell from the building in Jingu." Deng Hanyi of the Qing Dynasty "Inscribed on Lady's Temple" ": "The Chu Palace is in a state of confusion, with its eyebrows fresh, and has nothing to say to the late spring. Death is the only way to survive the hardships of the ages. How sad is Mrs. Xi alone?" The two poems both sympathize with Mrs. Xi's misfortune, but they fail to fight with death. There is quite a bit of criticism. Shen Deqian of the Qing Dynasty commented on Du Mu's poems: "What's the point of giving birth to a child without saying anything? The green pearl fell down the building and was out of reach." (Volume 20 of "Tang Poems Collection") Zhu Tingzhen commented on Deng Hanyi's poems: "Small words are the best. It is better to criticize directly than to discuss." (Volume 3 of "Xiaoyuan Poetry") They all saw the criticism in Du and Deng's poems.So, what about Wang Wei’s poem "Mrs. Xi"? Later generations often compared this poem with Du Mu's "Inscription on the Temple of Lady Peach Blossom". Wang Shizhen of the Qing Dynasty said: "Du Mu said: 'In the end, I will die, and I will pity the person who fell from the building in Jingu.' It is right to blame him with great justice." Wang Mojie said: "Looking at the flowers brings tears to my eyes, I don't know what the king of Chu said." Not even a word of judgment, this is why the prosperous Tang Dynasty was so high." (Volume 2 of "Yuyang Poetry Talk") Pan Deyu refuted it: " Wang Yuyang said that Xiao Du's fate was finally over. The poor man who fell from the building in Jingu was not as good as Mojie. He looked at the flowers and burst into tears. He didn't like the words of the king of Chu. He said that Mojie's daily poems were not highly discussed. Originally, it was above Mu. However, the title was mainly about Feng Jiao, Du Dayi blamed it, and the lyrics were awe-inspiring. Zhen Xishan said that Mu's "Xi Gui" could determine the right and wrong of the ages, and I believed that it was the last wave. , The anger is far away, and there is absolutely no sourness. Although the king does not comment, there is no deep flavor that can be chewed, and he despises the Tang Dynasty and the late Tang Ming Dynasty." (Volume 7 of "Yang Yizhai Poetry Talk") Different people have different opinions, and they can all justify themselves. For example, Wang Shizhen's poems have the advantage of being worded in a subtle and euphemistic way, without any discussion, and the meaning is implicit. Therefore, Wang Shizhen, who highly values ??the charm of poetry, appreciates it. But success is also a failure, failure is also a failure. The shortcomings of this poem are that the wording is too simple and the purpose is a bit vague. If it is just an epic poem, then this poem has not reached a high level.
However, Wang Wei’s “Mrs. The wife was so fair and beautiful that the king noticed her and left her to her husband. He cherished her for a long time, so he asked her, "Do you remember the baker again?" The king summoned the baker to see her. His wife looked at him with tears streaming down her cheeks. There were more than ten guests at the throne, all of whom were scribes at the time. They were all very sad. To complete his ambition." King Ning is Li Xian, whose first name is Chengqi. He is the eldest son of Emperor Ruizong of the Tang Dynasty and the eldest brother of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty Li Longji. Because he placed the crown prince in Longji, he was deeply favored by the latter. After Xuanzong succeeded to the throne, he was granted the title of Sikong, Taiwei, etc. In the fourth year of Kaiyuan (716), he changed his name to Xian and was granted the title of Prince Ning. The actual number of titles increased to 5,500 households. After his death, he was given the posthumous title of " Let the emperor”. "Old Book of Tang" records Li Xian's deeds. There are two points worthy of note. First, he indulged in pleasure: "Playing music and drinking, batting and fighting cocks, or chasing birds in the suburbs, or pursuing rewards in villas, this goes on for years." 2. It is to be careful to avoid disaster: "Xian Yougong is cautious and cautious, and has never discussed current affairs or made friends with others." This is similar to the behavior of his son Li Jing, King of Ruyang. Du Fu's "Song of the Eight Immortals in Drinking" says: "Ruyang started to face the sky after three fights. , I salivate at the entrance of the koji carriage, and I hate to move to the Jiuquan." Mr. Cheng Qianfan concluded in the article "One Sober and Eight Drunk" that Li Jing was pretending to be drunk to avoid suspicion, and it was possible that Li Xianzhi had accumulated a lot of concubines. It has a similar intention. In the eighth year of Kaiyuan (720), Wang Wei took the civil service examination in Chang'an. In his spare time, he would go to banquets with the kings and compose the poem "Madame Xi" in the seat of King Ning. It was in this year. "Youcheng" and so on should be called posthumously by future generations.
If what is recorded in "Poems of Benshi" is reliable, then Wang Wei's poem "Mrs. Xi" can be interpreted in a completely new way. He Shang, a native of the Qing Dynasty, said: "Mojie said, 'Don't be favored by the present, or you will forget the kindness of the past. When you look at the flowers, you will burst into tears, and you will not listen to the words of the King of Chu.' He is chanting about the beautiful ears of the cake cook's wife."
What does it mean to sing directly about Mrs. Xi? " (Volume 1 of "Zaijiuyuan Poetry") As mentioned above, even if this poem is "a direct chant to Mrs. Xi", it still has a certain meaning. But if it is written about the pastry chef's wife, the meaning is more profound. King Ning's seizure of the baker's wife was originally an evil act of the powerful oppressing the common people. This was not fundamentally different from the "Yanei rape of civilian girls" that often appeared in later generations of novels and operas, because King Ning was the eldest brother of the current emperor. , is the largest "yamen" in the world. He is so powerful that he seizes the wife of a commoner. Not only the baker and his wife dare not disobey, but the scribes who are the guests of King Ning also dare to be angry but dare not speak in the face of "tears hanging down their cheeks." "The baker's wife," the scribes here were "all sad", which shows that they have sympathy for the baker and his wife. In such a situation, when King Ning ordered the guests to write poems, how did the scribes write? "Zuo "The guests have no successors." This is because the guests did not dare to review Wang Wei's poems after seeing them, and they also hesitated to write. Only Wang Wei, who was only twenty years old, was brave enough to hand in the paper on the spot, using the ancient poem to satirize the present. The poem is extremely concise, with only four sentences, short in words and long in meaning. What's more clever is that the four lines of the poem are both suitable for the topic of Mrs. Xi and the topic of the pastry chef's wife, and they complement each other perfectly. , in comparison, this poem is more relevant to the current situation. The sentence "Looking at the flowers and full of tears" is completely fictional for Mrs. Xi, but for the pastry chef's wife in front of her, it can be called a realistic sentence. Although a folk woman did not dare to openly confront the powerful, she did not covet the wealth and wealth of "pampering more than others". She would rather return to her old husband and become a poor and humble couple for the common people. King Ning ordered the scribes to compose poems, just to ask them to sing about the real events in front of them. Wang Wei chose "Mrs. Xi" as the title of his poem. It was really out of the blue, but it was completely relevant. Only in this way can this poem express his deep sympathy for the baker and his wife, while also satirizing King Ning without criticizing him. King Ning later returned the girl to the baker. On the one hand, he may have been moved by her behavior, and on the other hand, it may be that Wang Wei's poem awakened his shameful heart. That’s it!
The Western “New Criticism” believes that it is not necessary to understand the writing background of literary works. This concept is not consistent with the actual situation of Chinese classical poetry. Wang Wei's poem "Mrs. Xi" is a typical counterexample.
(Author’s affiliation: School of Liberal Arts, Nanjing University)