It is difficult to determine the specific writing time of eight epic poems. Judging from the information provided in the poem, it can be said that Zuo Si entered Luoyang shortly before the Jin Dynasty destroyed Wu. Zuo Si's life in Luoyang and the special feelings formed by this life are written in poems. Zuo Si came to Luoyang with his family because his sister Juicy Zuo was elected to the palace. In 273 A.D. (the first year of Emperor Wudi of Jin Dynasty), Emperor Wudi of Jin Dynasty selected virgins to enter the palace from officials of civil and military affairs at or above the division level, and in the following year, he selected 5,000 virgins from officials of civil and military affairs at lower levels and ordinary gentry. Zuo Si's father is a consultant in the temple. When Zuo Si entered Luoyang, it can be roughly concluded that it was after AD 273. Zuo Si came to Luoyang mainly to show his skills in order to achieve a smooth career and pave the way for realizing his political thoughts, but the result was not ideal. Zuo Si learned about Jin's political corruption from all kinds of frustrations and difficulties in his official career, which was reflected in Eight Poems on Histories. These poems cannot be said to have been written by Zuo Si after living in Luoyang for a long time. There is a saying in the poem, "If there is no Wu Dong, there will be no ambition" (the first sentence). The demise of Wu Dong in the Jin Dynasty was in 280 (the first year of Jin Taikang). To be sure, eight epic poems were written before 280.
Zuo Si expressed his ambition by chanting history: "He became a rich and powerful Hunan, and he hoped to become a powerful Hu. If you succeed, you will not be honored and return to the field for a long time. " (1) Whether Zuo Si's motivation is as pure and beautiful as he said needs specific analysis. But reunifying China and stabilizing the situation were the historical tasks put forward at that time. At the end of the Han dynasty, warlords and powerful men fought in melee, which destroyed social and economic development and brought profound disasters to the people. After that, the tripartite confrontation between the three countries eliminated many small separatists and created a favorable situation for national reunification, but it was still far from national reunification. In the late Three Kingdoms period, Sima Group, which rose in Wei Dynasty, became the representative of the new force of the national unification trend. In 265 AD, after the formal establishment of the Jin regime, it created favorable conditions for national reunification. At the same time, Sima Group is eager to consolidate its rule in the national unification. It has become a unanimous voice to seize Wu Dong and eliminate the forces of border riots. Zuo Si, who lived in this historical condition, was driven by the situation and was interested in national reunification, thus starting his own career. It probably didn't happen in one day. Only when I arrived in Luoyang, I had a clearer understanding of the world, and the thoughts that had been brewing for a long time in my heart matured, broke out and pinned on my own poems. In the past, when talking about Zuo Si's thought, some commentators pointed out that Zuo Si had a strong "dedication to work", which was undoubtedly correct. However, it is necessary to examine Zuo Si's "ambition" under specific historical conditions and determine what is endowed by the times and what is determined by the class position, so as to evaluate Zuo Si's thought more clearly and accurately.
Zuo Si, who is committed to national reunification, has made a lot of practical preparations, not just talking big and talking on paper. The most important thing is, as he said, "looking over" (1), that is, reading the art of war. In feudal society, it is not uncommon to learn to write and master martial arts, but in the social system of the gentry, it requires some courage. During the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the gentry system occupied a dominant position. The gentry valued "accumulating Confucianism in the world", and Zuo Si was born in a lower-class gentry family, so he had to be influenced by this decadent concept. However, it is commendable that he can break the shackles of the concept of lineage, aspire to the battlefield, and seek personal fame in the cause of reunifying the motherland. Moreover, after living in Luoyang, Zuo Si was even more eager to learn that "the border town is bitter and feathers fly to Kyoto" (1). Although Zuo Si knows that his military talent is as blunt as a lead knife, he can comfort his lifelong ambition to fight for the reunification of the motherland, even if there is a cut.
However, Zuo Si's good wishes were suppressed and destroyed by the aristocratic system. In order to safeguard the interests of the gentry group, Jin implemented the "door selection" system, resulting in a situation of "no poverty for the top grade and no home for the bottom grade". What's more, some gentry with strong family consciousness decided to reject this article based on their family background. The Book of Jin Zuo Si Zhuan records a story: Lu Ji heard that Zuo Si was pregnant with Sandu Fu and clapped his hands and laughed. In a letter to his younger brother Lu Yun, he said: "There is a father here who wants to do Sandufu and must do it." Later, due to his admiration for Zhang Hua, his fu became famous. Zuo Si's family is cold. Although he was only in Gao Zhiqing, it was difficult for him to break through the hard shell of the gentry system and make a difference in politics. The cold reality left Zuo Si with no choice but to devote his life to serving the country, filled with indignation. The second part of "Ode to History" is a portrayal of his indignation. In the poem, he compares a humble child like himself to a pine and cypress born at the bottom of a ravine; The gentry dude who lives in Jin Yao by his ancestors is considered as a weak seedling growing on the top of the mountain. Pine and cypress-like talents are blocked by weak people because of "topography", which is caused by the cremation system itself. However, the system of the gentry is "not one source". The descendants of Tang He enjoy a high reputation from generation to generation with the virtues of their ancestors. Feng Tang, who was outstanding in Qiwei, was not reused until Bai Shou. Here, Zuo Si not only pointed his sharp criticism to the social reality at that time, but also criticized the previous aristocratic system. In the contrast between positive and negative objects, poetry reveals the aristocratic system more powerfully.
When fame and fortune came, Zuo Si stopped resolutely, and readers can find clues to understand the reasons in the poem "Eight Poems on History". Zuo Si lives in Luoyang. Facing the scene of "penniless, lonely, holding a movie and keeping my room empty" (the eighth time), he felt ashamed and resentful, and realized that it was a slip to come to Luoyang. So he said regretfully, "If you are not a dragon climber, what does it mean to visit suddenly?" He wants to follow Xu You's footsteps: "Stride like a meteor, step on Wan Li." (5) Although I want to be a Duan Ganmu and Lu Zhonglian-style figure, "the world is expensive and unruly, and things can be solved." (3) However, the internal killing of Sima's ruling group in Jin Dynasty became more and more serious; There is no such person as Wei Wenhou Heping Yuanjun. Moreover, corrupt politics, cruel killing and grabbing make the rise and fall of honor and disgrace change rapidly. "Throwing the ball produces glory, and duh, this is a dead sculpture." In this era, squirrels "the river is full of water" and wrens "live in a nest", which can be regarded as a model of Dashi (VIII). Giving up wealth and retiring to the countryside in order to be honest and clean has become the only way for leftist thought. Life in the countryside, far from the center of killing and robbing, makes Zuo Si feel at ease and enjoy it (see "Introduction" II). However, Zuo Si's mood is not calm: "Gao Zhi's bureau is all over the world, but he is guarding an empty hall. Strong teeth are immortal and often generous. " ("Miscellaneous Poems") It can also be seen that Zuo Si chose the road of seclusion in the countryside, which was a last resort and had infinite sadness and sadness.
In this way, Zuo Si's eight epic poems, with their unique and profound social contents, cast Zuo Si's lifelong ideals and laid a solid position in the history of China literature. In addition, "Eight Poems on Historical Poems" also has its own uniqueness in art.
First, try to correct Taikang's decadent style of writing and inherit Jian 'an's heroic strength.
In the Taikang literary world in the early Jin Dynasty, the general creative tendency is: deliberately imitating the works of the ancients, rarely combining with reality; The pursuit of magnificence and double neatness has formed a beautiful and erratic formalism fashion. In the face of this decadent wind, Zuo Si set up his own banner, and continued to carry forward the excellent tradition of Jian 'an literature, namely, "taking emotion as the latitude and taking literature as the quality", represented by Eight Poems on Histories. Although it is not Zuo Si's initiative to sing praises to history, Zuo Si can carefully select historical facts from real life, skillfully integrate his own thoughts and feelings, express his feelings by singing praises to history, and ridicule the world by expressing his feelings. This not only breaks through the limitation of predecessors' poems confined to one thing, but also competes with the formalistic tendency of Taikang literature to imitate the ancients and be divorced from reality. Zhong Rong said that Zuo Si's "Eight Poems on Epics" "The literary canon is mainly based on resentment, which is quite accurate and ironic." This is very in line with the left reality. As far as the artistic form is concerned, Eight Poems about Epics is not unnoticed. Poets seek simplicity from luxury, deep meaning from superficiality, simplicity and nature, unrestrained and depressed, and few traces of carving. Summarizing two aspects, Zhong Rong praised Zuo Si for creating a unique "wind of Zuo Si" (poetry). Wang Fuzhi said, "The Three Kingdoms were reduced to the Western Jin Dynasty, and their styles were greatly broken. For those who come to our country, it is endless. Why don't you hurry back? " (Selected Ancient Poems, Volume 4) These evaluations are fair.
Second, the combination of talent and ambition is seamless.
Chen Ruoming once said: "Tai Chong is a great man with a strong chest and a loud voice." Like Meng De, it is beautiful, simple and simple. Build a whole and show the future. He is brilliant and ambitious. Talented without ambition, words will be empty and correct; If you have the will but no talent, the voice is hard to defeat. Chen Ruoming pointed out that Zuo Si's success lies in the combination of talent and ambition, which is quite right. Zuo Si's artistic talent makes each capital in the eight epic poems independent and reflects certain social significance. At the same time, with a golden thread of noble ideals and sentiments, the first song is connected in series and integrated, and the internal structure is close and inseparable. First, expressing your ideals in a positive way can be described as the general outline of the whole group of poems; Secondly, write about the grief and indignation caused by the suppression of the gate valve system; Third, he said that he would follow the example of Duan Ganmu and Lu Zhonglian and find another way to serve the country. Fourth, write that you are willing to be lonely, concentrate on writing and achieve yourself; Fifth, writing this road is impassable, but I want to pursue Xu You; Sixth, praise Jing Ke's public feelings; Seventh, many handsome figures in history buried their wives to comfort their grievances; Eighth, write about the darkness of society, be determined to avoid the world, and be honest and clean. In these works, thoughts and feelings are like surging rivers, rushing and rolling; It is also like the Yellow River with nine twists, with a sigh and a sigh. Generous and tragic, delicate and charming; There is rolling thunder in the bass fiber gas. Zuo Si wrote rich and varied thoughts and feelings in every song, just like a great craftsman who combined scattered beads into a complete and exquisite garland. Therefore, in the history of China literature, the style of poems in Eight Poems of Poems (written by Hu Yinglin) is closely related to the name of Zuo Si.
Zuo Si is a feudal literati, living in a dark and sinister political environment. His eight epic poems can't leave a distinct class brand, and they can't help but leave the influence of his time, such as negative thoughts of avoiding the world and inaction. Although the feudal dross contained in Zuo Si's Eight Poems on Historical Poems is light in comparison, readers can't ignore it because of its rich essence.