Ancient poetry had two schools, one was realism and the other was romanticism.
In general, we think that the source of realism is the Book of Poetry. The Book of Poetry reflects the contents of labor and love, war and servitude, oppression and rebellion, customs and marriage, ancestor worship and banquets during the Zhou Dynasty, and is a mirror of social life at that time.
At the same time, we also believe that the source of romanticism is the Chu Ci. "Chu Ci" is the first collection of romantic poetry in the history of Chinese literature, with the poetry works such as "Leaving Sorrow", "Nine Songs", "Nine Chapters" and "Tianwen" created by qu Yuan, a poet of the Chu state during the Warring States period, as the main body.
As a result, Qu Yuan is regarded as the "originator" of romantic poets.
One
We look back at Qu Yuan and find that his fate in life is too hard.
Qu Yuan came from an aristocratic family and was an official of the Chu State. What kind of official position the left disciple is, there are many opinions, and so on. The only thing that can be confirmed is that this official rank is not low. Otherwise, Qu Yuan would not be qualified to engage in the change of law, nor would he be able to represent the State of Chu in forging a new alliance with the State of Qi. One year, Qu was demoted by King Huai of Chu to the rank of Doctor of The Three Lus. This shows that Qu Yuan's previous official position as a left disciple was at least higher than that of a doctor.
However, Qu Yuan was born in the wrong era. At that time, the Chu state had already passed the most brilliant years and was going downhill day by day. Above the court, the treacherous and evil people ran amok, and the loyal and virtuous people were tragically excluded. Poor Qu Yuan, who had a loyal and patriotic heart, could not get the appreciation and trust of King Huai of Chu, but was repeatedly exiled. The first exile was to the north of the Han River, the second to the area around Dongting Lake, and the third to the Lingyang area of Anhui.
These places of exile are farther and farther away from each time.
How can we modern people understand Qu Yuan's 3 exiles? Mr. Zhou Shuren said in "Shouting Self-Prologue": "Has anyone fallen from a well-off family into a difficult situation? I thought that in this way, I could probably see the true face of the world. "Mr. Zhou Shuren's family only fell once, he saw the true face of the world, Qu Yuan fell as many as 3 times.
For Qu Yuan, the hardships brought about by the exile career are of course material, but more are spiritual. He loved this country deeply, but this country (King Huai of Chu) did not love him—not only did he not love him, but he hit him again and again, belittled him, and drove him away. Qu Yuan could only watch his beloved country slide into extinction in his cycle of exile...
I can't make you a better place, so let me accompany you to the end. As a result, the 62-year-old Qu Yuan resolutely walked into the cold embrace of Miluojiang.
Two
However, the ill-fated Qu Yuan became a romantic poet.
You see Qu Yuan's poetry, full of positive romantic spirit and imaginative imagination, it seems to be colorful, full of emotion, and full of momentum. After Qu Yuan, Li Bai, Li Shangyin and others all inherited and carried forward Qu Yuan's romantic spirit.
On the one hand, this is because of qu Yuan's aristocratic blood that has penetrated into his bones.
"Emperor Gaoyang of miao descent Xi, Emperor Gao of The Emperor of The Miao Dynasty, Emperor Gao of the Emperor of The Emperor of The Miao Dynasty." Regency Zhen is in Meng Xi, but Geng Yin Wu surrenders, Emperor Yu Yu Chu Du Xi, Zhao Xi Yu takes the name of Jia..." At the beginning of "Leaving The Troubles", Qu Yuan tirelessly traces his origins.
Qu Yuan came from an aristocratic family in the Chu state, and aristocratic blood had penetrated into his bones. Qu Yuan was intelligent and talented from childhood, and he was handsome, and in today's terms, it is "rich and handsome".
Such a person, even if he has fallen to the bottom of society, even if he is mixed up in the Xianheng Hotel, he must wear a long shirt.
Such a person, even if he falls into a filthy cesspool, he praises vanilla and orchid in poetry.
On the other hand, it means that he has never been disappointed in his country and people.
Most people, after experiencing the frustration of falling from a high place once or twice, are basically discouraged. Qu Yuan has not lost his confidence in the country and the people after three uprisings and three backwards. During the exile, Qu Yuan composed a large number of excellent literary works—in fact, most of Qu Yuan's representative works were created during the exile. These literary works exude a positive and optimistic spiritual trait.
Qu Yuan said in the "Nine Chapters": "Birds fly against their hometowns, and foxes will die on the first hill." "This means that when a bird flies out, it will still fly back to its home; when a fox dies outside, its head will be far away from the hill in which it lives. Qu Yuan expressed his meaning: "Although I have suffered great trauma physically and mentally, my love and attachment to my homeland will never change. ”
Of course, Qu Yuan's being a Romantic poet does not mean that he does not care about reality. People like Qu Yuan, who were born into the nobility, have an innate sense of "sense of responsibility for the country." Qu Yuan was concerned about the sufferings of the people, and only then would he recite such an ancient sentence as "long breath to cover up the snot, mourning the many hardships of the people's livelihood", and only then would he profoundly expose the dark side of the Chu state in his poems.