Characteristics of poetry and prose
The theme of Cen Can's poems involves narrative, questions and answers, landscapes and travels, among which frontier poems are the most outstanding, and "grandeur" is its outstanding feature. Cen Can went to frontier fortress twice and wrote more than 70 frontier fortress poems. During the prosperous Tang Dynasty, he wrote the most frontier poems and made the most outstanding achievements.
In his works, no enemy can be a real opponent in the face of the strength of the Tang Empire, so he doesn't need to write about the outstanding struggles and hard sacrifices of the soldiers. What he wants to write is another great force that stands in front of soldiers, that is, harsh nature. For example, in The Journey to the West, snowy nights and roaring winds, flying sand and stones, these formidable harsh climatic environments in the frontier desert, in the poet's impression, have become spectacular scenery that set off heroism, which is a wonderful beauty worthy of appreciation. Without the enterprising spirit and courage to overcome difficulties, it is difficult to feel this way. Only poets in the prosperous Tang Dynasty can have this cheerful mind and this artistic sense.
Cen Can expressed the scenery beyond the Great Wall with strange enthusiasm and magnificent colors. Under the control of frontier fortress's generosity and lofty sentiments, with heroic tone and peculiar artistic techniques, the strange scenery and customs of the northwest desert are vividly displayed, which has a unique magnificent beauty. It broke through the traditional mode of writing frontier poems in the past, and greatly enriched and broadened the description theme and content scope of frontier poems.
"Magnificent" is its outstanding feature, and its language is vivid and exaggerated, impassioned, magnificent, magnificent, imaginative and changeable.
The description of frontier fortress customs in his poems is also very striking. The living environment of the military camp here is: "the rain blows the felt wall wet, and the wind shakes the curtain" ("The First Autumn Wheel Platform"); The furnishings of luxurious life in the general's shogunate are: "The greenhouse is embroidered with curtains and red stoves, woven into wall clothes." Maid-in-waiting poured a jade pot in front of the lamp, and randomly ordered wild camel cakes in the golden clang ("The Military Song of General Yumenguan Gai"); The scene of the song and dance banquet here is: "Pipa and flute are in harmony, Qiang Hutong sings, plows cattle and cooks wild camels, and makes wine by crossing the river" ("Jiuquan Taishou is drunk at the table"), "People are full of beautiful moths and flowers are light and luxuriant. If the skirt is folded back, the sleeves are snowing, and a whirlwind is born in the left and right extension "("Tian Meiren dances like a lotus flower in the north "). These are all new things in the eyes of Cen Can, who is used to life in the Central Plains. What is more noteworthy is that his poems also reflect the touching scene of people of all ethnic groups interacting with each other and having fun together: "In the army, wine and drums are played at night and banquets are held at noon. General Huamen has a good rest, and King Ye He is a fan who can speak Chinese ("Farewell to a long sentence, be strict with yourself"); In September, Tianshan Mountain is like a knife, and hunting horses in the south of the city shrinks. A general wins every battle, and gambling is better than a sable robe "("Zhao Jiangjun Song "). Cen Can also wrote some frontier homesick poems, such as "Meeting an Envoy to Beijing" for later generations: Things are different, and feelings are deep. However, his poem Farewell to the North Court shows his touching mood of attaching importance to state affairs.
After the An Shi Rebellion, although he also expressed some sympathy when he was hurt in some poems such as "Two March", it was somewhat inferior to those frontier poems mentioned earlier. His poem "Xishu Hostel sends a message to an old friend in the spring" says: "The four seas are still unsettled, and I am at a loss. Since the outbreak of the war, I feel that the world is very narrow. " This kind of mood can also explain why his romantic pride disappeared and he rarely reflected on the Anshi rebellion.
There is no denying that Cen Can's poems are really infectious.
Poetry evaluation
The main ideological tendency of Cen's poems is the heroic spirit of generosity to serve the country and the optimistic spirit of being fearless of difficulties. The artistic momentum is magnificent, the imagination is rich, the exaggeration is bold, the color is gorgeous, the creativity is novel, and the style is steep. He is good at depicting the magnificent frontier scenery with seven-character songs and expressing his uninhibited feelings. Du Zhen, a Tang Dynasty poet, compiled Cenjiazhou's poems, and later generations' collections evolved accordingly. Nowadays, Chen Tie people and Hou people have "Collection of Notes". For deeds, see Du Que's Preface to Cenjiazhou Collection, Chronicle of Tang Poems and Talented Persons of Tang Dynasty. Along with Gao Shi, he is also known as "Gao Cen".
Cen Can's poems are characterized by heroic spirit of serving the country generously and optimistic spirit of not being afraid of hardship, which is consistent with Gao Shi. The difference is that he describes the richness of frontier life more than the sympathy for foot soldiers in Gao Shi's poems. This is mainly because his background and early experience are different from Gao Shi's.
Cen Can's poems are full of romantic features: magnificent, imaginative, colorful, passionate and unrestrained, and his curious ideological character make his frontier poems present strange artistic charm. His poems have various forms, but he is best at seven-character poems. Sometimes two sentences turn, sometimes three sentences and four sentences turn, constantly rushing and jumping, full of images everywhere. It can be seen from his famous works, such as Night Collection of Judges in Liangzhou Pavilion, that he also attaches great importance to learning from folk songs.
Du Que's Preface to Cenjiazhou's Poems says that his poems are handed down from generation to generation. Although he is a scholar and a savage, he is full of irony. " It can be seen that his poems were widely circulated at that time, not only appealing to both refined and popular tastes, but also deeply loved by people of all ethnic groups. Fan Yin and Du Fu praised his poems before his death. Lu You, a patriotic poet in the Song Dynasty, even said that his poems were "chasing Du Li with a pen" (reading Cenjiazhou's poems at night). Although the evaluation may be a little excessive, Cen's poems are touching, but it is conceivable.
However, he was born in such a declining aristocratic family and was deeply branded with his life and thoughts. Critics of all previous dynasties thought that Censhi was handsome and graceful, and we pondered these four words repeatedly, which actually reflected two ideological contradictions in poetry creation: being keen on fame, being brave in making progress and being far away from the whole body. This contradiction runs through the poet Cen Can's life. Wei Que's ideological contradiction in the Jianghu is common among poets in the Tang Dynasty. Li Bai, a heroic romantic poet, is no exception. On the one hand, he sang "Oh, how can I bow and scrape to those high-ranking officials whose sincere faces will never be seen" ("Climbing Mount Tianmu in a Dream"), but on the other hand, he wrote to state officials many times to compare himself with his own experience. "Jingzhou with Han Shu" said: "Why not cherish the land in front of the stage now and make Bai proud and affectionate?" The emotions reflected in Cen Can's poems are not only influenced by family, but also have their social basis.