Recently, this statement has appeared frequently on the Internet, which makes people feel very confused at first glance: Qu Yuan, Tao Yuanming, Li Bai, Du Fu and Su Shi are all top writers in the history of China. Why are the four great schools defined as great, while Su Shi is only occasionally great?
Li Bai in the drama
So where did this statement come from? Why do you say that? Is this judgment really reliable? Tracing back to the source, the author understands that this is a statement occasionally mentioned by some teachers in the Chinese Department. For example, Dai Jianye, a professor in the Chinese Department of Huazhong Normal University, once mentioned in class:
"There are several great poets in China: Qu Yuan, Tao Yuanming, Li Bai, Du Fu, and occasionally Su Shi."
It can be seen that this statement is not fabricated by netizens, but is well-founded. Then, why is Su Shi, a representative of China literature, mentioned only occasionally when Qu Yuan and Du Li can undoubtedly be called great poets?
After repeated thinking and inference, I personally think there are three reasons:
1. Poetry represents different fields. Although China's poems are often mentioned together, they are quite different. The two are not in the same field, especially before Su Shi's "poetry as a word".
Poetry always expresses ambition. At first, most words are popular lyrics, which are used to sing with music and express some euphemistic feelings. Wang Guowei made a distinction between poetry and poetry in The Thorn on Earth: "The realm of poetry is wide, and the words are long."
The formal formation scale of Ci was in the Song Dynasty. Although Li Bai is also famous for his ci, his main achievement is poetry. Qu Yuan, Tao Yuanming and Du Fu are all like this. Su Shi's poems are also very famous, but although Song poetry has opened up an aesthetic road different from Tang poetry, it still cannot surpass the peak of Tang poetry, so Su Shi's poems are still not as famous as Tang poetry. Moreover, Su Shi's main achievement is in poetry, so Su Shi is naturally at a disadvantage compared with the previous great writers in poetry.
Du Fu in Drama
(1) The development of poetry represented by Qu Yuan, Tao Yuanming, Li Bai and Du Fu.
Qu Yuan's Sao style is a kind of poetry in a broad sense, although it is not known as classical poetry and metrical poetry. Qu Yuan's Sao style is also a kind of generalized poetry, which is not the well-known classical poetry and metrical poetry. Qu Yuan, Li Bai and Du Fu are all the peaks of poetic achievements and have played a pioneering role in the development of poetry.
Qu Yuan's Lisao changed from four words in The Book of Songs to seven words. In The Book of Songs, there are mostly four-character poems, such as "Jian Peijun Cang Cang", mixed with other words, while in Li Sao, there are already seven words, such as "Yuan Manchou, Li Manlan, I miss my son, but I dare not speak."
And what are the poems we usually talk about? It is seven words!
Moreover, Qu Yuan also initiated the romantic tradition of poets, Li Sao was the source of poems about immortals, and the tenacity and tragic spirit of Qu Yuan's "nine deaths without regrets" opened the literati tradition in China since ancient times.
So when it comes to Qu Yuan, there is no doubt that he will be crowned as a "great poet".
Qu Yuan in Drama
Tao Yuanming, the pioneer of landscape pastoral poetry, is even directly called "the greatest poet in China", not "one of them", because he represents the highest realm of the poet's poetry "harmony between man and nature" and "selflessness", and these two words have always been the highest aesthetic pursuit of China culture.
Not to mention Li Bai and Du Fu. We are all familiar with their achievements. Li Bai's poems are fresh and elegant, while Du Fu's poems are gloomy and frustrated. One represents the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty, and the other represents the deep sense of honor and disgrace and patriotic enthusiasm of intellectuals when the Tang Dynasty turned from prosperity to decline. These two men are worthy of being great poets.
(B) Su Shi's status-a great poet
And Su Shi, what comes to mind first when he mentions this name? Is he a poet? number
The first thing that comes to mind is Su Shi's ci. Su Shi is the representative of bold and unconstrained ci. He created the style of bold and unconstrained ci, which can be said to be the first person to "take poetry as ci". He expressed the traditional writing for the first time, subverted the concept of contemporary people, and even attracted strong criticism from Li Qingzhao, the first poetess in China.
Moreover, Su Shi's bold and unconstrained ci poems are often swept into the eternal romantic atmosphere, which can not only express his lofty aspirations, but also avoid the difficulties of sorrow. Moreover, he is naturally open-minded and can extricate himself, which is reflected in his words, which naturally makes his words have an open-minded feeling.
So when it comes to Su Shi, our first reaction is: China is a great poet.
Or in connection with Su Shi's achievements in other fields, we often call Su Shi a great scholar. After all, Su Shi's poems, essays and paintings are all pervasive, but they all have extraordinary achievements. It is also very appropriate to call them "literati".
It is true that since the Qing Dynasty, the study of Song poetry has become increasingly important, and the charm of Song poetry has gradually been discovered. But after all, the most representative style in Song Dynasty is Ci, and the representative dynasty of poetry is always Tang Dynasty. Therefore, even though Su Shi's poetry made great achievements, the Tang Dynasty almost exhausted all the themes and feelings of poetry. Even Su Shi had studied Tao Yuanming and Du Fu before. Therefore, in the field of poetry, it is not an exaggeration for Su Shi to be called great occasionally. This does not affect our love for Su Shi, and we don't have to be too entangled.
Su Shi in Drama
Second, literary generalists weaken the achievements in a single field. Qu Yuan's achievement is mainly in Lisao, and Tao Yuanming's achievement is mainly in pastoral poetry, or a poem can be added. Li Bai and Du Fu undoubtedly achieved mainly in poetry. The professionalism of this style makes it easy to remember their outstanding achievements.
Su Shi is not only a poet, but also an essayist and painter, both of whom have made considerable achievements. This makes people always have a doubt about what to attribute Su Shi to.
He has his own words:
"As shown in" Calligraphy and Poetry Essays ",the viewpoint has matured. Roughly like a flowing cloud, it has no definite quality at first, but it often goes in on what it should do and often stops on what it can't stop. Natural arts and sciences, infinite posture. Confucius said, "Without words, it is not far away. "
He said, "This is just a promise."
This actually shows his attitude, that is, his creation pays attention to rhetoric, and his talent and understanding make it easy for him to reach this state, so he can achieve something in everything, but it is difficult to summarize his achievements in one respect.
Therefore, when compared with the above figures, his advantage becomes a disadvantage.
Su Shi in Drama
Third, what do we use to define "greatness"? If a person can be called great, he naturally has a pioneering and even unique contribution, and is even called "speaking on behalf of heaven and earth".
Although each character mentioned in the title has his own contribution, this contribution is different. We have all analyzed before that Qu Yuan, Tao Yuanming, Li Bai and Du Fu have played a unique and irreplaceable role in China's poetry and even in China's spiritual field, while Su Shi's achievements will be weakened.
He also suffered from relegation, and wrote the famous Ode to the Red Wall and many touching poems with his rare optimism. But before him, Qu Yuan, who created relegation, had already made a declaration of "though he died nine times, he had no regrets", which ran through the spiritual pursuit of China's thousand-year-old intellectuals, and Tao Yuanming had already made a statement of "I don't like it or share it".
In fact, I think this is the result of the times. Although there are giants standing, the fields that can be developed have long been developed. Even if Su Shi is gifted, it is difficult to have the opportunity of the ancients. This is also the feeling of our contemporary intellectuals.
Su Shi in Drama
Fourth, how to evaluate Su Shi? To say that Su Shi is not great enough is only the opinion of some people, not to say that this question was put forward by some academic leaders, so we have to think that it must be right. Independent thinking and rational analysis are very important in science and literature. We must know our own point of view and don't listen to other people's advice.
The above analysis is aimed at explaining and expounding this problem and cannot fully represent my own point of view. In fact, in the author's opinion, Su Shi's poems include Red Wall Fu, Crossing the Sea on the Night of June 20, Nian Nujiao, Huangzhou Cold Food Poetry and Mu Shi Tu, which one is not desirable?
Besides, who can replace his contribution to the development of Song poetry style? Not to mention his admirable spirit, who can replace his contribution to the development of Song Ci? Not to mention his admirable optimism and broad-mindedness, he has already become the representative of the peak of China's cultural spirit.
So, I love my Dongpo, why bother others to comment?